A charity boss and his partner who siphoned off about £100,000 from a fund set up to help sick and dying children were jailed yesterday.

Joseph Mulcahy was described as a "liar, a hypocrite and a thief" by the judge who sentenced him to five years at Newcastle Crown Court.

His partner, Maureen Lewis, received a 21-month sentence for her lesser role in the fraud they perpetrated on the Dream Foundation charity.

Former police officer David Foley, who helped the pair set up the North-East charity, was handed a 12-month sentence for separate thefts from the foundation totalling nearly £10,000.

Judge Guy Whitburn QC told the court: "Let no one doubt that where there are substantial frauds on charities substantial custodial sentences will follow. The public would expect nothing less."

Mulcahy, 56, and Lewis, 50, of North Lodge, Chester-le-Street, County Durham, were found guilty on Thursday by a jury, and Foley, 55, of Sunniside, Gateshead, admitted his crimes at an earlier hearing.

The judge said he accepted that the Dream Foundation had not been fraudulent from the start, but he told the three defendants: "The aim of the charity, the granting of the dreams of sick and disabled children was such as to pluck at the heart strings of the public.

"They the public and numerous businesses who encouraged their employees to sponsor dreams and to raise money on behalf of this charity have every reason to feel betrayed by that which you have done."

Lewis had been nominated a trustee of the fund by Mulcahy - who had 17 years experience of charity work but was ineligible for the role as an undischarged bankrupt.

But the judge said Lewis had no idea of how to discharge the "very heavy burden" that her role entailed.

The charity's funds had been used to bankroll a "ridiculous" business set up by Mulcahy to sell elastic shoe laces, which he then had the "impertinence" to sell to the charity.

Mulcahy had written cheques to himself from the charity and paid for trips for himself and Lewis to Florida which were "undoubtedly free holidays", said the judge.

One of the visits was made so that the couple could attend the Orange Blossom Line Dance Festival taking place in the state.

The month-long trial heard how the benefits they accrued amounted to £90,000 in money, plus the value of the holidays, and the judge said the couple's actions were "the most flagrant and persistent breaches of charity law".

The seven-year conspiracy had involved funds being diverted from the charity to accounts controlled by Mulcahy and Lewis, which were then put to personal uses including credit card and mortgage repayments.

The judge said: "It is a significantly aggravating feature that a conspiracy like this damages the public's faith in charities generally.

"Selfless volunteers who attempt to raise money for whatever cause must despair when those at the heart of a high-profile charity such as this admit to or are found guilty of fraud."

Turning to Mulcahy he said: "You are stigmatised as a liar, a hypocrite and a thief. The least sentence I can pass on you is one of five years in prison."

Lewis received a lesser sentence because the judge said she was clearly acting under Mulcahy's influence.

He added that he was "deeply impressed" by the previous good character of Foley, a Northumbria Police officer for 30 years.

Foley had been unaware of Mulcahy and Lewis's fraud and used the money to pay of debts.

The judge added: "This was not a man who was high-living at the expense of charity."