Woman stole from her hosts (From This Is Wiltshire)

Woman stole from her hosts

When a kind-hearted couple took Samantha Fardon in and offered to help her get her life back on track she repaid them by taking money from their bank account, a court heard.

The husband only spotted something was wrong when he checked his bank balance, prosecutor Simon Brenchley told Swindon magistrates.

Fardon, 21, met the couple through a friend when she was living at the Foyer, in Bath Road. In June they offered her a place to stay until she could get her life together, he said.

But within weeks her host found he had less money in his account than he thought.

He was told a series of cheques from a new chequebook had been paid out a chequebook he had not used.

Mr Brenchley said Fardon was next to him as he made a call to the police and offered to drive him to the bank where he discovered she had forged his signature and written cheques for a total of £1,790.

Other cheques for £150 and £520 had not cleared because of insufficient funds.

She didn't return when her deception was uncovered but texted her hosts the following day, appealing to them not to involve the police and promising to pay the money back.

When arrested she admitted stealing the chequebook. The couple were refunded by HSBC.

Fardon admitted theft and five charges of obtaining property by deception, as well as two charges of obstructing police, one of driving without a licence, two of having no insurance and one of failing to surrender.

Lee Mott, for Fardon, now living at Bridgewater Street, Stoke-on-Trent, told the court she had been at rock bottom when she met the couple.

He said after her arrest police had found a wish list. Top of that list was clearing £3,500 in previous court fines, but she also wanted money to get a flat and a car. She had applied for a £10,000 loan but was turned down. Her host offered to get a £10,000 loan and split it with her but he was refused.

He obtained a £5,000 loan but she never saw the money, said Mr Mott. As a result she felt rejected. But it was pure chance that she discovered the chequebook.

The court heard the motoring and obstructing police offences came about when she was twice stopped by police and gave her sister Lorraine's details instead of her own.

She was ordered to to do 200 hours community punishment for the deceptions, another 200 concurrent for the theft and 100, also concurrent, for the two charges of obstructing police.

They gave no separate penalty for the other offences, but ordered her to pay £1,790 compensation to HSBC.

Tina Clarke