A CUSTOMER service manager who kept quiet when she was wrongly paid almost £200,000 has been ordered to pay compensation to her former employer.

Beryl Ann Shore, 61, worked for MGS Technical Plastics Ltd in Darwen when she received £184, 654 she was not entitled to.

Shore, of Sough Road, Darwen, initially asked the company for a loan of £500, and expected repayments to be deducted from her £27,000 a year salary.

But the repayments were never taken, and a further £184,000 was paid into her account in regular instalments.

A Proceeds of Crime hearing at Preston Crown Court heard Shore had just £3,199 left in her Santander bank account - which she was ordered to repay to the company.

She splashed out on paying for her family to go on holiday - although she did not join them, and used money to support her daily living expenses.

Judge Simon Newell said: “There is currently £3,199 in a bank account that will be paid by way of compensation to the victims of this offence.”

At an earlier hearing, Shore was handed a 16 month suspended prison sentence after the court heard she had already repaid £68,000 of the money.

Preston Crown Court heard Shore’s colleague Kathryn Jones, 50, paid the money into her account as part of a wider scam which saw Jones steal £600,000 of company money,

But Shore did not declare she had been overpaid and was therefore complicit in the theft, the court heard.

As a result of the women’s dishonesty, the family run MGS Technical Plastics fell into significant financial difficulties and had to cut staff jobs.

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.”

A Proceeds of Crime hearing will take place for Kathryn Jones on July 22.