A WOMAN who had a £1,000 cheque intended for a children's club wrongly paid into her account could not afford to pay it back when the mistake was spotted, a court heard.

Janet Watson-O'Hara, aged 41, of Ashworth Lane, Astley Bridge, appeared at Bolton Crown Court for sentence for theft.

Darren Preston, prosecuting, said the background to the cheque being sent to Watson-O'Hara dated back to when she was manager of a children's club at Sharples CP School in 1997. The group ran activities for children after school and she had helped to agree funding from Bolton and Bury Chamber of Commerce through its training and enterprise department.

The Chamber needed bank details and Watson-O'Hara gave them her account number and a cheque was paid to her account.

In 1999, when she had left her job, the school agreed further funding with the Chamber and a cheque for £1,050 was agreed. But the Chamber still had Watson-O'Hara's bank account details and officials sent the cheque for £1,050 to her instead of the school.

Later she contacted the Chamber and agreed the money would be repaid within two weeks, but she did not repay the cash.

She told police she had spoken to someone at the Chamber who had agreed she could repay the money in instalments, but nothing was repaid.

Graham Robinson, defending, said problems for the mother-of-three began in 1996 and she had to give up two of her three jobs, leaving her without a steady income. She had suffered financial problems and was not opening her post and her husband suffered serious ill health.

Judge Gillian Ruaux ordered her to carry out 100 hours of a Community Punishment Order but made no order for compensation, saying the money could be regained through the civil courts.