SHE stole more than £18,000 from her York employer to repay loan sharks and fund personal spending, but an Easingwold woman is now beginning 15 months behind bars.

Nicola Barwell, 37, admitted making out Arcus Renewable Energy Consulting’s cheques to herself and using the company credit card to pay for nearly £1000 in dentist bills while working for the Swinegate firm. She had earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of theft and one of false accounting.

Barwell, of Long Street, Easingwold was told by Judge Jonathon Rose at York Crown Court on Wednesday that she had found herself in a situation where temptation was placed in front of her and she could not resist.

The court heard how Barwell, who was responsible for the company’s cheque book and credit card, as well as handling expenses, had begun making cheques out to herself in December 2007 rather than pay the firm’s creditors.

The money was used to pay off increasingly aggressive loan sharks, from whom she had borrowed £500, and to fund hotel stays, shopping and petrol.

As the deception spiralled out of control Barwell wrote to her boss confessing her crimes, and soon after, the firm was contacted by creditors about unpaid bills.

The hearing was also told how Barwell was also caught stealing £400 from an employer 11 years ago.

Katherine Robinson, for the defence argued Barwell should be spared jail because the letter she wrote to her employer amounted to “more than a guilty plea,” and that she was under great stress from the loan sharks, who eventually took more than three times the original £500 debt from her.

She also pointed out the unsophisticated nature of the offences and how detection was inevitable.

However, Judge Rose told the accused she did not come to the court with a good character.

He said: “It may be that in 1998 the offence you committed was in a very different circumstance to this occasion.

“It was a relatively small amount of money, but when you had your hand in that till and were caught, that should have been a warning to you for the rest of your life. Still as time went on it seems that the lesson has been lost on you.”

“It’s a sad fact that many people run themselves into difficult financial situations. You are an intelligent woman and there were places for you to turn for help.

“What happened is that over a period of time you indulged in repeated dishonest behaviour, using both the cheque book and credit card to make gain for yourself.”

While giving her the “greatest of credit” for her guilty plea, Judge Rose sentenced Barwell to 15 months for each of the three charges, each to run concurrently.