A PUB manageress who stole thousands of pounds from her boss instead of banking his takings has been spared prison.

Ruth Scott was yesterday given a suspended jail sentence with probation service supervision by Judge Tony Briggs.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the 33-year-old pleaded guilty to stealing £5,800 between October 2007 and January last year.

The mother-of-three, from County Durham, was initially accused of taking more than £13,000 from pub owner Lee Elliott.

She had worked for Mr Elliott for two-and-a-half years and was promoted in March 2007 to manage the Penny Gill, in Spennymoor, County Durham.

One of Scott’s duties was to bank takings each week, but she made only five payments, said Shaun Dryden, prosecuting.

The shortfall was noticed during an audit when Mr Elliott planned to transfer the pub back into the ownership of the brewery.

Mr Dryden said Scott was questioned, but denied she had taken any money and said that banking staff must have made mistakes.

A bank worker spent many hours checking other accounts in case the cash had been deposited in the wrong place, the court heard.

The bank employee also trawled hours of closed-circuit television footage to prove Scott had not visited when she claimed she had.

Scott finally pleaded guilty to theft on what was to be the first day of her crown court trial, last month.

Her barrister, Annelise Haugstad, told the court that Scott, of The Avenue, Pelton, Chester-le-Street, had been a trusted, hard worker.

“This was unsophisticated,”

Miss Haugstad said. “She was bound from the outset to be caught. She now loses her good character and will undoubtedly have difficulty in finding further employment of the nature which she has been used to.”

Judge Briggs imposed a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and told Scott: “You caused the bank considerable unnecessary labour and unnecessary investigation.”