The boss of a charity pre-school conned out of nearly £38,000 by a "despicable" treasurer has spoken of her shock and horror at the scale of the fraud.

Today mother-of-three Kerry Goldsmith, 49, of Bapchild near Sittingbourne was given a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to more than 26 fraud charges.

Sally Stevens, left, Gill McIver, centre, and Lucy Cocker were in court for the sentencing

Gill McIver, who took over as chairman of the Owl and Pussycat pre-school in the village after the deceit was first discovered, told tonight's KentOnline podcast: "It has been heart-breaking.

"The impact has been absolutely enormous. Some months we haven't known if would have enough money to pay the wages of the charity."

She said the knowledge of the thefts, which she believes had been going on since at least 2010 "and possibly before" coincided with the coronavirus lockdown which meant fundraising events such as cake sales and sponsored obstacle courses for the children had also been put on hold.

She said the committee was "upset" by the suspended sentence but was hoping to claw back some of the cash following a compensation hearing.

She said: "We felt it merited a custodial sentence, it really did. But if we get some money back then justice will have been seen to have been done."

She added: "At the end of it, it is the children, who are at the core of everything we do, who have suffered the most. That is the most heart-breaking thing.

"They are still in a dilapidated mobile unit with a leaking roof. Just think what all that money could have done.

"Anyone who would defraud a charity is despicable and particularly a children's charity. To draw a wage for a voluntary position is wrong and then to steal alongside drawing that wage just compounds it."

She said the reaction in the village had been "shock, absolute shock" and added: "It drained us. It's now impossible for us to trust another person to come in as treasurer. There must now be at least two of us to sign a cheque.

"When we sat down with the police and began uncovering cheque after cheque and invoice after invoice we just cried. It was unbelievable."

Maidstone Crown Court heard how Goldsmith had connived to keep her duplicity hidden by inventing a variety of deceptions, including bogus invoices for gifts, fake "sing-along" shows, computer repairs, Kent County Council demands, tax bills and payments to WeightWatchers where Goldsmith was a consultant.

The deception came to light in 2018 after a change of officials and the new chairman found an invoice for a children's entertainer for a 2017 Christmas party which had never happened.

An audit was ordered which revealed "a plethora of forged invoices, letters and other documents".

Staff were horrified to find Goldsmith had stolen at least £37,921.23 over 10 years.

Goldsmith must now wear an electronic tag and is under a 9pm to 7am curfew.

The pre-school in School Lane has since been taken under the wing of Bapchild and Tonge CE (Aided) Primary School.

Headteacher Christian Kelly said: "The school had no financial link other than a small rental paid from the charity which ceased to be paid in December 2016.

"The leadership of the school has worked closely with the current trustees over the last two years in exploring the pre-school becoming a school-led nursery which concluded in January when it became part of the school and renamed Bapchild Nursery.

"We continue to work hard to provide the best early years’ experience to our current children and families and invest in new resources and environment. The current trustees have always been incredibly supportive in providing the best opportunities for its children."

The Owl and Pussycat charity remains active so it can receive any compensation payments. The chairman said any money received would be handed over to the school to be used for the pre-school. The pre-school provided 24 places for children aged from two to five.

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