A trusted worker stole more than £16,000 from a small, family run business over a period of two years.

Angela Townend later told police she took the cash ‘to make ends meet and make Christmas better than it had been’.

The 50-year-old appeared at the court of General Gaol Delivery on Friday for sentencing after admitting eight counts of theft amounting to almost £17,000.

In a victim impact statement, a director of the plant hire company based in the north of the island, explained how the company had been ‘firefighting’ since the money was stolen.

Read out by prosecutor Sara-Jayne Dodge, the statement said: ‘We are a local, family-run business that has operated for 50 years across three generations.

‘We pride ourselves on being a supportive and generous employer. Angela was the first person outside the family to deal with our finances.

‘We supported her and she received a good salary and bonuses. We looked after her as best we could.

‘We tried to make her employment with us as happy and as positive as we could but she threw it back in our faces.’

The director also explained what impact Townend’s actions have had on the business.

In the statement read out, she said: ‘We had to downsize and restructure to keep trading. We have had to firefight to keep the business going. It has involved long and arduous work.

'It has been a period of immense stress and we now cannot trust anyone outside the family circle.

‘We have never had to deal with anything like this before and the damage caused by her offending cannot be underestimated.

‘We just hope she learns from this going forward and does not do this to any other employer.’

Ms Dodge told the court Townend stole money from the company on eight occasions between April 2022 and March 2024, ranging from £500 to £3,225 with a total of £16,784 taken.

Townend was arrested on March 18, 2024 and gave a full and frank account when interviewed by police.

The court heard Townend has a caution for a similar offence of stealing £7,769 from a previous employer in 2020.

Defence advocate Helen Lobb said her client is remorseful and was struggling with mental health issues at the time.

Miss Lobb said: ‘My client does not shy away from the fact she has done wrong and she wants to be in a position to pay the money back.

‘She has been struggling with mental health over a number of years but she is now getting the help she needs.

‘Her current employer is supportive and she has moved away from dealing with any finances.’

Deemster Graeme Cook said he had ‘thought long and hard’ over whether Townend should be sent straight to prison.

He told Townend he could easily have sent her to prison but due to her remorse, mental health issues and her early guilty plea, he was prepared to suspend it.

She was given a 20-month prison sentence for the worst offence of stealing £3,225 which was suspended for two years with two years supervision. She was handed 12 months in prison suspended for two years for the other offences all to run concurrently.

A proceeds of crime application has been made in a bid to recoup some or all of the money Townend stole.