A YOUNG mum who embezzled over £850 from Accrington’s Age Concern cafe using the charity’s debit card has been told to expect a prison sentence.

Gemma Atherton, 24, of Water Street, Accrington, was convicted at Hyndburn Magistrates Court of withdrawing the money from cashpoints around the town nine times between 9 October and 6 December last year, soon after being hired by the charity as a cook and assistant.

But magistrates cleared Atherton of 14 other charges of stealing from the till and petty cash tins over a similar period, after finding CCTV footage from a spy camera to catch the culprit inconclusive.

They also said they could not rely on accounts evidence after errors were found in records covering the period.

The defendant had denied all 23 charges and claimed she did not know who committed the thefts, while her defence counsel Mr Simon Harrison dismissed all the evidence as "circumstantial".

No-one had actually witnessed any of the thefts, while other members of staff assumed her guilt because of "innuendo" against "the new girl", he said.

The court heard that Atherton had begun working at the cafe in October 2007, after long-serving manager Denise Haworth was rushed to hospital with pneumonia.

Atherton was a friend of fellow employee Chantelle Connelly, and had recently finished catering college.

Mr Mark Cooper, prosecuting, said that the charity had experienced no problems with money disappearing before or since Atherton’s employment.

Her crimes had gone unnoticed at first because she had been intercepting bank statements.

Earlier in the two-day trial, the charity’s chief officer Patrick Collister, who has run the Accrington branch for over 15 years, said the only people who had access to the debit card were Atherton and Mrs Haworth – described in court as "entirely honest" with an "impeccable record". Moreover the thefts coincided with Atherton’s visits to Iceland and Marks and Spencer to buy food for the cafe.

Atherton had claimed that Ms Connelly shared these duties during Mrs Haworth’s absence because she (Atherton) was pregnant at the time.

But the court took a dim view of this evidence because she had not mentioned it when initially charged by police. Mr Collister had testified that Ms Connelly was not at work on most of the days when the cashpoint thefts took place.

Mr Cooper told Atherton: "Is it not the case that this is an attempt at smoke and mirrors? If you really thought it was her you would have told the police, wouldn’t you? You’ve only brought her name up at this stage because you’re getting desperate."

Atherton was given unconditional bail until 16 January for the preparation of a pre-sentence report but magistrate Gill Rostron indicated that the starting point was a "short custodial sentence".

She said: "The aggravating factors were that the offences were committed over a period of time, that you stole from a charitable organisation and that it was planned."

Mr Cooper also applied for costs of £700 and £410 compensation.