Shop assistant stole £6k worth of lotto scratch cards from friend’s corner shop
Shop owner Nicola thought she'd have to sell her business
A SHOP assistant stole £6,000-worth of lottery scratchcards — but was caught when a cleaner spotted silver shavings on her side of the counter.
Mum-of-six Sandra Helyer, 44, helped herself to the cards while working in her friend Nicola Van Beek’s Open All Hours store.
Nicola had noticed takings were down and even bought a new till to cut down on mistakes as she struggled to pay her own wages.
After the cleaner spotted the shavings, Nicola put in CCTV which picked up Helyer running fake transactions through the till at the shop in Dalton-in-Furness, Cumbria, in February. It also showed her grabbing the scratchcards. She was arrested at home and found to have cards with serial numbers matching those from Open All Hours.
Helyer, of Walney, got a 12-month suspended sentence at Preston crown court and was ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work after admitting theft.
She must also pay £2,000 compensation to 38-year-old Nicola.
Recorder John Ainsworth said: “The total loss was £6,000. That is an awful lot from the books of a small business.”
After the case, Nicola said: “I honestly thought she was just a bit thick.
“Things got so bad I had to stop paying myself. I thought I’d have to sell the business.
“I had to cancel my daughter’s riding lessons and my plans to get married were on hold.
“I let it go because she was my friend’s mum.”
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