A Wirral charity worker who stole from her bosses and two former colleagues, leaving them significantly out of pocket, had run up gambling and cocaine debts.

Charlotte Swann repeatedly sneakily stole cash from a safe at the Wirral Women and Children’s Aid centre where she worked and even stole toys donated for needy children.

And not content with that she asked two former colleagues she regarded as friends to loan her thousands of pounds, promising to repay it, but she never did and Liverpool Crown Court has heard that she does not have the means to compensate them.

A judge told 30-year-old Swann that the centre provides care and refuge for women and children. “Every single pound, if not every penny, is precious to an organisation such as they.

“The thefts of money and toys in the court’s judgement were particularly mean and despicable. Your background and any issues that you had cannot excuse or justify such selfish and dishonest acts by you,” said Judge David Aubrey, QC.

But he said that he accepted that she cares for her sick mum, has never been in trouble before and has displayed remorse.

He imposed a 12 month jail sentence but suspended it for 18 months and ordered her to carry out 120 hours unpaid work and 15 days rehabilitation activities. He said she should leave court as a relieved woman with humility and modesty.

Judge Aubrey said that she had a “tragic, turbulent background. When you were quite young your father set fire to the family home and he received in consequence a sentence of imprisonment.

“No doubt you felt confused and abandoned. Many years later he came back into your life and perhaps not questioning the past and understandably you sought some form of relationship to rekindle the father-daughter relationship and then he abandoned you yet again.

“Now having been abandoned for the second time your life spiralled out of control by you becoming addicted to cocaine and were using and spending £300-£400 a week. And it is quite apparent you were also gambling to excess and now had two addictions.

“So while these thefts cannot be excused or justified there is perhaps some explanation as to the commission of these offences by way of background. You found yourself in a desperate state and you took desperate dishonest measures to seek to relieve you of that state.”

Swann, of Radway Road, Huyton, had pleaded guilty to four theft offences. Two involved stealing cash and childrens’ toys from Wirral Women and Children’s Aid between September 1 and December 31, 2019.

The other charges involved stealing £2,665 cash belonging to one female acquaintance and stealing £4,175 cash belonging to another between May 1 and December 31 last year.

Ken Grant, prosecuting, said that in November 2019 senior staff at the refuge noticed that money had been going missing from the safe in a locked room, called the Sunshine Room.

An investigation began and CCTV showed that on a number of occasions she had gone into the office during her shift, frequently going in without the lights on. It was found that a total of £763 had been stolen.

“The CCTV also revealed she took toys that had been donated by individuals for children attached to the refuge and she placed toys in her car.

“In addition the police received two complaints that she had borrowed money from two former professional colleagues.”

She had told one that her bank account was frozen and asked for a loan and was transferred £2,600 into her account. Swann said she had £4,500 in savings and would repay the cash as soon as her account was sorted out.

But she failed to respond to requests for repayment, blocked telephone calls and failed to respond to emails.

Swann also approached another colleague for a loan and in May 2020 she advanced her £4,175 but apart from two £50 payments she did not pay her back.

Mr Grant said that the charity began disciplinary proceedings against Swann and she was dismissed in February 2020.

He said that it became clear that she had used the money from the two women to fund her gambling on websites and her bank account had never been frozen. She had spent a total of £3,287 on the websites, on one day along gambling £1,139.

When interviewed she admitted stealing the toys but denied stealing money and said she had only been in the Sunshine Room to conduct research. In a later interview she admitted borrowing money from the two women and said she had intended to repay it.

David Woods, defending, said the defendant’s 64-year-old mum requires support and she is her carer.

He said Swann “carries unbearable shame and guilt” and the author of the pre-sentence report described her as remorseful. “She has ruined her reputation and career.”

Mr Wood said that the issues with her father had led to a downward spiral involving drinking and taking drugs and incurred debt. She sought to resolve that by gambling and in desperation stole from her employer and “more pertinently from people she called friends.”

She will be unable to work in the caring industry again and is likely to be made bankrupt although she does not appear to have assets, he said.

“She acted out of character and will not do it ever again. If she could turn the block back she would.”

He explained her dad was jailed for four years for the arson when she was a child and came back into her life again five or six years ago before leaving again.