A woman who plundered more than £20,000 from a community centre has been jailed for eight weeks.

Tracey Arnold forged a colleague’s signature on cheques so she could siphon the money into her accounts or pick up the cash.

And a judge blasted the 43-year-old as she sobbed in the dock for failing to tell her children that she could end up behind bars for what she had done.

He heard that Arnold’s 11-year-old daughter suffered from ME and a thyroid problem but that her husband would deal with her not coming home should she be jailed.

Referring to the girl Judge Euan Ambrose, sitting at Swindon crown court, said “She is the one who is going to suffer the most.

“I am particularly unimpressed that she has stuck her head in the sand. It is almost an aggravating feature.

“I am unimpressed that there is a child out there whose mother is facing a prison sentence and has not said anything about it.

“It is pretty unacceptable to be sitting there crying about it today.”

The court heard how Arnold worked for Wiltshire council as a clerical assistant at the Mansion House Youth and Community Centre in Pickwick Road, Corsham.

The position meant she was a co-signatory on the centre’s chequebook but over a 16 month period she stole about £21,500.

As well as making out cheques to herself by forging another person’s signature she also made them to people she wanted to give money to including one of her children.

Tessa Hingston, prosecuting, said there was no chance of the council getting the money back as the bank won’t repay it and the excess on their insurance is £1000,000.

Arnold, of Pockeridge Road, Corsham, pleaded guilty to fraud.

Anne Ellery, defending, said the deception was unsophisticated as her client was always likely to be found out.

She said she was in dire financial difficulties with debts of £80,000 after she and her husband both sold homes at a loss.

Miss Ellery said Arnold was in ill health and though she was on disability living allowance she as looking for a clerical job and her husband was working full time.

She said he had told her not to inform their children of her predicament and that he would tell them should she receive a jail tem.

Jailing her, the judge said “You have pleaded guilty to 28 counts of fraudulent cheque writing at the expense of your employer.

“You were employed by the council as an administrative assistant to work at the mansion House Community Centre.

“That is what it says, it s a community centre, and you were placed in a position of trust: a co-signatory on a cheque book.

“You abuse that trust as over a 16 month period you wrote 28 cheques forging the other co-signatory’s signature causing approximately £21,500 to be taken from the centre’s account and either paid in cash to you or paid as cheques to people that you wished to give money to.

“That included one of your children and that money, that £21,500, has been lost to the council, lost to the community centre and that affects the community and there is no realistic possibility of that money being repaid.”

Passing the short sentence he said “The fact of imprisonment of any length will be a heavy penalty.”