A JUDGE today told a woman who admitted stealing almost �20,000 from a Fenland community centre: “You are clearly very remorseful and have carried a large burden of guilt.”

Judge Jonathan Haworth told Andrea Smith, former financial administrator of the Oasis Centre, Wisbech: “You are genuinely ashamed of what you did and have offered and made attempts to repay money”.

The judge was speaking as he sentenced Smith who had pleaded guilty to stealing nearly �6,000 in cash and nearly �14,000 in cheques over for a three-year period.

Georgina Gibbs, mitigating, also said: “She has always dealt with the financial side of things in the family and has admitted they were living beyond their means.

“She felt she had no option but to borrow money from the trust that she had hoped to pay back.

“If it had been her intention to steal she could have just left her job without telling anyone.”

Smith, 46, of Tinker’s Drove, Wisbech, was tearful throughout today’s sentencing hearing.

FULL REPORT AND SENTENCING DETAILS ON THIS WEBSITE FROM 3.30PM TODAY.