A WOMAN who was suspected of lying about having fertility treatment to avoid going to jail was found to be telling the truth - and wept as she dodged custody.

Serial con artist Jayne Maughan faced prison when she appeared at Teesside Crown Court in July to be sentenced for a £15,500 chequebook fraud.

Her barrister said she was due for the last of her IVF dates last month, and Judge Sean Morris - unconvinced by her claims - adjourned the case.

He demanded written proof from Maughan's doctors, and told her: "I'm not prepared to take anything you say on trust. You're a fraudster and a thief."

Maughan, 41, from South Bank, Middlesbrough, returned to court today (Monday, October 5) with two wheeled suitcases expecting to be locked up by Judge Morris.

She was instead given 15 months, suspended for 18 months along with Probation Service supervision and ordered to go on a Thinking First programme.

The judge told Maughan: "These offences go back to 2010, and I don't think it's appropriate for you to serve your sentence immediately. You owned up."

Richard Herrmann, mitigating, said she said the IVF treatment is no longer possible on the NHS after Maughan passed her 41st birthday last month.

He said she was recovering from alcoholism, but said she had been hoping to start a third and final cycle of fertility, yet was unable to.

Maughan - jailed in the past for an identical chequebook scam, and once for robbing a taxi driver - sobbed as prosecutor Ian West outlined the case.

The court heard how she stole cheques from a retired teacher's home and paid them into her own account to fund spending sprees.

The victim, who was also suffering from drink problems at the time, did not notice the £15,500 missing for several years, the court heard.

Maughan and her then partner had visited the pensioner in 2010, as her boyfriend was planning to move into his east Cleveland home.

Maughan found the chequebook and picked out cheques from various parts in an attempt to get away with the fraud for as long as possible.

When she was arrested in 2013, she told police she had been paid the money - the largest single sum was £5,000 - for "cleaning work".

Maughan later admitted fraud when a handwriting expert proved the victim did not sign the cheques.