DESPERATELY in need of cash, a book keeper for Ely hairdresser Simon Taylor fraudulently paid herself an extra �1,750 in wages. It was Tarina Timbers job to calculate wages for salon staff, and over a two-month period she made six payments into her own a

DESPERATELY in need of cash, a book keeper for Ely hairdresser Simon Taylor fraudulently paid herself an extra �1,750 in wages.

It was Tarina Timbers' job to calculate wages for salon staff, and over a two-month period she made six payments into her own account when she had already been paid in cash.

"She did not live a lavish life style, but she has many responsibilities," solicitor Lowri Roberts explained to Ely magistrates.

"She is solely responsible for a mortgage and has two elderly parents living with her, both of whom are infirm."

Timbers, 46, of Black Horse Drove, Littleport, admitted committing fraud between July 3 and September 13.

"She had spent 12 years working for Simon Taylor, and paid wages through a Telepay system" said prosecutor Laura Mardell. "After her contract was terminated, accounts showed that Timbers had paid herself �1,750 over six transactions, when she was already being paid in cash." Timbers has since paid back �400.

In a letter to her employer, Timbers said she was "deeply sorry to betray his trust," said solicitor Lowri Roberts.

She wrote a letter, saying she had committed the offence "not through greed, but in desperation due to her heavy debt."

Miss Roberts added: "Her debts had spiralled. She committed the first transaction on the spur of the moment, she sent in her bank details, and then did it again."

Timbers was ordered to pay �1,350 in compensation, carry out 80 hours of unpaid work, and pay �85 costs.