by Hayley Robinson

A trusted employee who stole almost £68,000 from a family-run hotel will have to pay back just 3.3% of what she took.

Mother of two Charlotte Owen was sentenced in July to 18 months behind bars after she admitted taking cash to the value of £67,699 from Hempstead House Hotel and Spa.

But on Friday, she was ordered by Maidstone Crown Court (pictured) to pay £2,250 under a Proceeds of Crime Confiscation Order.

She has just 28 days to pay the money, or face a further 30 days in prison.

Owen, who was employed between October 2008 and December 2011, first took enough cash to pay the mortgage on her Sittingbourne home, but after finding how easy it was she became more daring.

Over the course of three years, she splashed out on two horses at a total of £1,900, three puppies – one costing £650 – a Land Rover Freelander car, hotel breaks for her and her husband in London at Christmas and holidays.

The gross breach of trust left the owner of the business Mandy Holdstock devastated.

Mrs Holdstock told in a statement how Owen had been a close family friend and her "betrayal" meant the hotel would take many years to recover the financial loss.

Owen’s duties included banking funds from various departments of the hotel.

Alarm bells rang in December last year when a £1,700 deposit for a wedding reception went missing from the safe.

That evening Owen went to owner Mandy Holdstock’s private quarters and confessed.

She at first claimed it was the first time she had taken money but then admitted she could have had around £50,000.

Police discovered amounts paid into Owen’s building society account between 2008 and 2011 totalled almost £66,000. Her home was searched and £1,050 was found on top of a wardrobe.

Speaking before sentencing in July, prsecutor Bridget Todd said: "She admitted taking the money but could not remember how many times. It was to pay for debts and help with finances, but the temptation grew and she took money for no apparent reason."

Speaking after the confiscation order ruling, Mrs Holdstock said: "It’s £2,250 more than I thought I was going to get. As far as I’m concerned it’s over and done with."