A FINANCIAL director stole hundreds of thousands of pounds from a North-East garage partly by laundering money through other people's bank accounts, a court heard yesterday.

Mary Blair, 54, admitted stealing more than £600,000 from her employers, PMB Motors and South Cleveland Garages in Darlington.

Her son-in-law, Graham Bartlett, 37, and sister-in-law Beverley Grimes, 43, denied, at Teesside Crown Court, assisting her to obtain the benefit of criminal conduct.

Opening the case for the prosecution, Deborah Sherwin said: "These two people were involved as money launderers to some extent in helping Mary Blair keep money that she had stolen.

"The real question is whether they were deliberately assisting her."

The court heard that Blair, of Summerhouse Grove, Darlington, began working at PMB Motors, in McMullen Road, in 1992.

She was in charge of the company chequebook and was made financial director on a £27,000-a-year salary in 1998.

Blair also had a business of her own in Darlington - Chloe Bridal Wear, later called Manhattan House.

Miss Sherwin said that from about 1997, Blair began to siphon money from PMB, adding: "Over a period of time, between 1997 to the end of 2001, Mary Blair successfully stole in the region of £642,439.

"A lot of the cheques that Mary Blair was signing herself and getting others to co-sign were cheques either to herself or to a bridal company that she had an interest in." She said Blair also signed cheques to other people, including members of her family.

Five cheques from PMB, worth £28,950 in total, were paid into Mrs Grimes' and her husband Edward's joint account between February 1997 and December 1997. All but £3,450 was paid out to Blair, the court was told.

Three cheques, worth £17,200, were paid into the account of Mr Bartlett, the husband of Blair's daughter, Claire, between March 1997 and March 1998. The court heard that £1,700 remained in the account and the rest was paid out to Blair.

Blair has pleaded guilty to a number of offences of theft and asked for other offences of theft to be taken into account.

Her nephew, Christopher Grimes, has admitted laundering more than £500,000 worth of cheques. Edward Grimes has pleaded guilty to laundering £28,950. They will all be sentenced later.

Blair's thefts were uncovered when the owner of PMB Motors, Darlington solicitor John McArdle, sold his business to South Cleveland Garages in 2001.

Blair continued stealing from South Cleveland Garages, where she was kept on as accountant.

Transcripts of police interviews with Mrs Grimes and Mr Bartlett were read out.

Mrs Grimes, of Bousfield Crescent, Newton Aycliffe, said she was aware of the cheques but thought they were a bonus from PMB.

She believed the money they kept was for work her husband had done at the bridal shop.

Mr Bartlett, of Chapelhope Close, Darlington, was interviewed by detectives in January this year. He said he had no recollection of the cheques being put into his account six years before. "She (Blair) used me wrongly to do whatever she's been doing," he said.

The case resumes tomorrow.