Cash theft woman told to repay £1,500

Amanda Cauldwell, aged 31, of Ivanhoe Court, Moses Gate, was ordered to pay £1,500 in compensation to Lever Edge Primary School when she appeared at Bolton Crown Court yesterday.

Cauldwell stole the cash - which included £1,000 raised by pupils for Comic Relief and money set aside for school trips and the Christmas party - to fund holidays in New York and Spain.

She was jailed for eight months at Bolton Crown Court in October, but was released on licence after serving less than half her sentence.

A hearing to claw back her ill-gotten gains in February was halted after lawyers acting for the police refused to accept that her home was worth only £95,000.

However, Bolton Crown Court heard yesterday that lawyers had agreed she should repay £1,500.

She was ordered to pay back the cash by September 14 or face a further 45 days in jail.

David Farley, representing Cauldwell, told the court: "She has had ongoing financial difficulties since her release from prison, but is actively looking for work and that will help. There's not much money at home at the moment.

"She will make every effort to repay the money without having to sell the house."

Cauldwell started as an assistant at Lever Edge Primary in 1999, working her way up to the trusted position of finance officer.

However, she exploited that trust and stole the cash between December 2003 and February 2005.

She refused to make any comment after the hearing.

Police financial investigator Tony Wood said Cauldwell's house was now valued at £100,000, but there was little equity within it because of her mortgages and secured loans.

He added: "This figure of £10,000 will stay with her for life. If she eventually has assets to fulfil the remaining amount of money, she will have to repay it. In two years time her house might be worth £110,000."

Mr Wood said an enforcement team working for the magistrates courts is continually reviewing such cases.