by Keith Hunt

A sub-postmistress who "fiddled the books" to the tune of more than £34,000 has been spared a jail sentence after a judge said she was "far from a thief".

Pauline Thomson admitted three charges of false accounting at the post office in Matfield, near Tunbridge Wells, between April 2007 and February 2008.

Prosecutor Lawrence Henderson said the cash was lost to Royal Mail but it was accepted the 60-year-old married mother did not benefit.

She took over the post office in September 2004 and there was no audit until September 2008. Concern was raised early on and the loss of £34,331 was found.

Thompson had not indicated she was having any difficulty with the computer system, Mr Henderson told Maidstone Crown Court.

When interviewed, she said she had been having problems balancing the figures. She employed no staff and no one had access to cash or stock.

Thomson had considerable debts of almost £50,000. She said she made the loss and did not know how to deal with it.

Mr Henderson applied for compensation order in the missing sum.

John Fitzgerald, defending, told Judge Philip St John-Stevens he hoped he would have "a little sympathy" about how the offences were committed. "She didn’t hide she had fiddled the books," he said.

The judge said if Thomson had been convicted of theft there would have been an inevitable prison sentence.

"I do accept your account," he told her. "You put your head in the sand and hoped the computer would sort out the finances you had, perhaps, entered incorrectly."

Recognising Thomson had been "in a dark place", he ordered her to complete 120 hours unpaid work.

"You feel dreadful you have let the village down," he said. "The seriousness of the offence can be met by a community order."

The judge added he would not make a compensation order because of Thomson’s financial situation.