Woman jailed for stealing over £8,000 from charity with Holy Island holiday camp

Barbara Allen managed bookings for a rental property on Holy Island owned by the St Vincent de Paul organisation.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the Northumberland coastal camp was a holiday haven for children who were helped out by the charity but it was also leased out commercially, to raise funds for the cause.

It was after Allen left her post in 2017, other volunteers discovered she had used her role to pocket cheques paid by the Durham University Catholic Chaplaincy for their hire of the holiday accommodation.

Prosecutor Matthew Hopkins told the court: "It was discovered that the defendant, over four years between 2013 and 2017, had obtained seven cheques from the chaplaincy for their use of the premises and had deposited each of them into her own personal bank."

The court heard the total amount she deposited into her own account was £8,625.

Allen, 64, of Hopper Street, North Shields, North Tyneside, who has never been in trouble before, admitted fraud by false representation.

In a victim statement, a St Vincent de Paul charity finance officer said the loss of money did not affect the children directly but meant the organisation had less yearly surplus cash to spend on games, bed linen and property repairs.

He added that the organisation ‘would not want anyone to suffer a custodial sentence’.

The volunteer said a sentence which benefits the community and the beneficiaries would be supported.

Judge Christopher Prince jailed Allen for four months and told her it was ‘an extremely mean offence’.

The judge said: "In simple terms, you stole £8,625 over a period of four years from a charity providing for children by diverting money given to the charity straight into your private bank account."

Jamie Adams, defending said Allen, who is ‘deeply ashamed’, has spent her life helping others and being a good mother.

Mr Adams said the last fraud was in 2017 and Allen, who handed in a character reference, has been ‘living in a state of fear’ since.