AN administration assistant who stole more than £780,000 from a plastics firm and spent it on luxury holidays, cars and handbags has been jailed.

Preston Crown Court heard how Kathryn Jones, 50, had taken £600,000 for herself from MGS Technical Plastics Limited between January 2011 and November 2016, leaving the company in dire straits.

The company has also had to fork out £100,000 in legal fees Jones’ offending only came after payment discrepancies were identified by accountants. That led to a full audit where it was revealed Jones transferred large sums of money to her bank accounts. She tried to cover up the anomalies by saying she was paying sub-contractors.

But in reality she frittered the money away on a luxury lifestyle.

Jones also gave her co-defendant and former MGS customer service manager, Beryl Ann Shore, an initial loan of £500 from the company accounts. She continued to approve unauthorised payments, which eventually amounted to £184,654.

Shore, 61, had expected the money to be deducted from her monthly salary but it never was.

Although Shore had never asked for more than the initial loan it was the prosecution’s case that she was complicit in the theft because she did nothing to stop the extra £184,000 being paid into her account.

In mitigation Jones’ barrister Jon Close said that after being diagnosed with cancer his client, who worked at the company for 15 years, “did not think she would be here” to face the consequences of her actions.

The court heard how Jones was an administration assistant and was in charge of paying wages to staff, making transfers, standing orders and had responsibility of the company’s internet banking. She paid herself batches of money, including the sum of £18,000 after an audit review was carried out between April 2015 and March 2016.

Paul Cummings, prosecuting, said: “Jones had a trusted position in the company. There were four bank accounts used in her name when she took the money. She said the money had been frittered away on holidays to Cuba, Mexico and Tenerife. She said she was sorry for what she did.”

Shore, who had worked as an administration assistant before Jones joined, earned around £27,000 a year until she left to work elsewhere in April 2014. After being diagnosed with cancer, Jones was known to take work home with her and had time off for treatment.

Jones, of Sough Road, Darwen, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft. Shore, of Kirkdale Close, Darwen, pleaded guilty to a single count of theft.

Defending, Jon Close said his client had been diagnosed with cancer in 2014 and felt like she had been given a death sentence. He said: “She had made three suicide attempts between October 2016 and April 2018.” He said she has not claimed benefits she was entitled to because she felt she would be “cheating the system” and did not declare bankruptcy after her accounts were frozen because it would be “an easy way out”.

Rachel Woods, defending Shore, said: “Unlike her co-defendant she was not going on expensive holidays. She accepts she paid for her family members to go on holiday.”

Jones was jailed for 28 months and ordered to pay the statutory victim surcharge.

Shore was sentenced to 16 months in prison but it was suspended for 12 months. She was ordered to complete 21 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 100 hours of unpaid work. Shore has repaid £68,000 towards what she had taken and Jones has repaid £27,368.38. A proceeds of crime hearing will take place next year when the prosecution will try to recover the remaining amount.

Addressing Jones directly, Recorder Alexandra Simmonds said: “You have paid back a small fraction of what you owe. The company had to pay £100,000 in legal fees. In addition the company suffered periods of financial difficulty. Even when you were absent for a long period of time in 2014 having been diagnosed with cancer, you asked to carry on your role and continue to look after the bank accounts during treatment.”

She added: “The company was forced to reduce its workforce. This would not be necessary if you had not stolen considerable sums of money. You stole their buffer.”

Speaking after the trial, John Sturgess, the company’s managing director, said: “We are glad that they had to face up to their greed, lies and deceit. It was a complete breach of trust and they had no regard whatsoever for the impact on colleagues. We are a small company and take pride in our reputation and the wellbeing of our workforce.

“We knew immediately that it was the right thing to make sure they faced serious consequences and we have been overwhelmed with the support we’ve received.”

“The sentencing today is the final chapter in a very long and unpleasant case and we are pleased that these thieves have been brought to justice.”“The theft affected many people at MGS, and I want to thank my staff for their loyalty throughout it all, those who helped stop this and the police investigating bodies who brought these two thieves to justice.”

Detective Sergeant Richard Buckley added: “Jones and Shore have acted in pure greed, defrauding a family-owned business from hundreds of thousands of pounds over a number of years.”

“Jones especially had been doing this for a long time, and despite her less than sophisticated approach, clearly thought she was going to get away with it. Jones, who was entrusted to look after the company’s finances, took full advantage of her position and betrayed her long-term employers for her own personal gain.”