Worker stole £15k from church to pay for Sky TV and fund 'shopping addiction'

A former church administrator with an "addiction to shopping" stole £15,000 from her employer - using church funds to pay for her Sky TV, petrol and Amazon goods.

Claire Clarke worked for St Mary Magdalen Church in Torquay from home during the pandemic.

She has now admitted stealing £15,000 from the church.

The 44-year-old from Paignton first linked the church's credit card to her Sky TV account. She then started using the card to pay for other items - from small amounts of food to petrol and goods on her Amazon account.

She was eventually found out and locked out of the church accounts, but not before her spending spree had used £14,899 of church funds.

The court heard she was ill at the time and had "an addiction to shopping".

Clarke admitted one charge of theft from her employer. She wept as she was sentenced at a hearing at Exeter Crown Court on Tuesday 15 October.

In a statement Reverend Samuel Leach said he was "mortified" when he found out what had been going on.

"I felt betrayed, sick to my stomach that someone in such a position could do this," he said.

He also described the months of unravelling what had happened as the worst year in his life

Clarke was described by others in the congregation as "the heart and soul of the church" and a trusted figure.

The court was also told Clarke was someone who had a "big heart" and was not a bad person but had made "poor choices".

The judge, Recorder Zoey Saunders, acknowledged Clarke had no previous convictions, her full admissions of guilt and genuine remorse and the spirit of forgiveness in the community.

She was sentenced to two years in prison suspended for 18 months.

Insurers have paid £10,000 towards the losses.