A CLUB steward was yesterday found guilty of stealing thousands of pounds of takings she was supposed to have banked.

Christine Tate, 42, took £14,773 in little more than a year from Southside Social Club, on the Green, at Easington Village, County Durham.

Tate, of previous good character, worked at the club for 14 years, the last five as steward.

Durham Crown Court heard that suspicions arose in an annual audit of the books made in September last year.

It revealed shortfalls between the money supposed to have been banked and the amounts actually paid into the club account on a weekly basis, one of the stewards' duties.

The prosecution claimed Tate tried to cover for her actions by altering the figure she actually paid in from weekly takings, overwriting the amount she should have deposited in the relevant entry in the paying-in book.

There were as many as 13 sums altered in 53 weeks between September 14, 2003, and September 22, last year. In one instance, there was a £3,000 difference between the figures.

When it came to light, Tate was suspended from her duties and police were informed.

She agreed she performed banking duties but denied taking the money.

During the trial, she made further denials, but said she could not explain why the figures were altered in the paying-in book.

The court heard that a month after her suspension, Tate, a mother of three daughters, of Sea View, Easington, took ill and was hospitalised with heart problems, for which she will be on medication for the rest of her life.

She denied theft, but a jury found her guilty by a 10-2 majority, after three-and-a-half hours' deliberation.

Following the verdict, her barrister, Roger Moore, asked for the sentence to be adjourned pending the preparation of reports by the probation service.

Judge Esmond Faulks agreed and bailed Tate to come back before him, at Newcastle Crown Court, for sentence on August 10.

Thanking the jury, Judge Faulks said: "The evidence, it seemed to me, was utterly overwhelming in this case."