A "GREEDY" grandmother, who fleeced her employers out of tens of thousands of pounds for nearly a decade, has been jailed.

Company secretary Lynda Whalley, 67, used her position of trust to steal almost £165,000, some of which was spent on a family holiday and a new kitchen.

Whalley's thefts weakened the family business and meant its 100 employees missed out on a pay rise, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

Jailing her for 32 months, Recorder David Dixon said her offending "amounted to little more than greed."

He added: "Betrayal is just what it was when you stole repeatedly from this company."

Prosecutor Mark Brookes said Whalley, of Grasleigh Avenue, Allerton, Bradford, who pleaded guilty to one charge of theft, had worked for the ACW Garden Centre, which has sites in Canal Road, Bradford, and Harden, for 26 years.

It was a family-owned business and Whalley was regarded as a family friend. She had a substantial position of trust and was effectively involved in the day-to-day financial management of the company.

Mr Brookes said it was Whalley's responsibility to provide a schedule of suppliers to whom payment was due. She created a fictitious supplier which was signed off by company director Andrew Walmsley.

"That fictitious supplier was a cover for the defendant to use the company's bank account to transfer cash into her own account," Mr Brookes said.

On one occasion Whalley created a false invoice to cover up a theft.

Matters came to light last October. A formal meeting was held and Whalley admitted a theft of £956. She paid back the amount and handed in a resignation letter. She was arrested and made full admissions to police. She admitted spending part of the money on a replacement kitchen and an all-inclusive holiday.

Mr Walmsley read a victim impact statement to the court. He said the family trusted her "without a second thought" and she had been a confidante.

"The loss of this basic but profound trust is the most hurtful part of this ordeal."

Mr Walmsley said Whalley was one of only two employees he had invited to his wedding. He added: "To think that Lynda's fraud was occurring before, during and after this event is sickening beyond belief."

He said Whalley's actions had weakened the business, and they had spent many months trying to understand why. Three years ago, for the first time in the company's history, the staff did not receive a pay rise.

Her barrister, Alexander Menary, said she had led a blameless life previously and was a devoted mother and grandmother, and had taken over the care of her grand-daughter.

Mr Menary maintained she did not spend the money on frivolous items but on day-to-day living.

She had confessed almost before the police were involved.

Recorder Dixon said she was almost one of the family but, over a period of more than nine years, she had decided to steal from that family. He said the money she had stolen was a lot for a small to medium-sized business to lose.

He added: "They are still a going concern and doing well, despite your endeavours."

The judge went on: "I believe you are genuinely remorseful for what you did and bitterly ashamed, as you should be."

But he said it was a high culpability case and she had breached a high degree of trust and responsibility.

The judge heard that the amount of proceeds of crime available was £64,361. He ordered Whalley to pay that figure in compensation within three months, with two years imprisonment in default.

After the hearing, Mr Walmsley said there were no winners.

He said: "I am sorry for my family, my staff and her family. I am just glad it is all over and justice has been done.

"She took money systematically once a fortnight and never missed for nine and a half years. I used to sit and talk to her and ask what we were going to do. I was blaming myself for our difficulties. We knew something was wrong but this was the last thing we thought of."

Mr Walmsley said he had trusted Whalley like a family member.

But he added: "We still have faith in trust. We have got to learn from this and move forward."

PC Toni Hinnells, of the Bradford District Cyber Crime Investigations Team, said: "Whalley abused her position of trust to steal hundreds of thousands of pounds from her employers.

"This act of pure greed caused both companies financial difficulties and prevented staff from receiving pay rises.

"Our Proceeds of Crime Act powers will be used to try and recompense these businesses for what they have lost, and I hope that this sentence serves as a deterrent to others from this type of crime."