A SHOCKED couple told last night how their sister-in-law stole tens of thousands of pounds from them to fund a lavish lifestyle with her secret lover.

Although Fiona Gibson admitted stealing £42,000 from her husband, sister-in-law and mother-in-law, her shocked family suspect it may have been even more.

Gibson, who lived in the Bartlemere area of Barnard Castle, was sentenced to 21 months in prison by Durham Crown Court yesterday after admitting 19 charges of theft.

The court heard that she was married to Anthony Gibson for 18 years, but led a secret double life with another man. The 39-year-old former Costa Coffee worker arranged dozens of loans and credit cards in the names of her husband and her in-laws over two years. She intercepted their mail to prevent them discovering the truth.

She even created a fake job for herself – her family never suspecting that her lifestyle was being funded by loans set up in their names.

The money was spent on nights in hotels, a car, expensive hairdos and manicures.

Last night, her sister-in-law, Deborah Benson, who lived a few doors away, told how Gibson fooled everyone.

She said: “Fiona Gibson was a friend as well as a sisterin- law, and for years and years there was never anything to make me think differently.

“But now I hope I never see her again – I would be shocked if I ever did, because she would be stupid to come back to Barnard Castle, because everybody knows what she has done.”

Mrs Benson suffers from multiple sclerosis and collapsed with chest pains and high blood pressure when Gibson’s lies were revealed.

Her husband, Derrick, said: “She was very clever in the way she did all of this, but she was a very evil person who must have had a plan for a long, long time.”

In 1998, Gibson was jailed for nine months for a £4,000 bogus insurance claim but, despite this, the family welcomed her back.

She even stole from her 15- year-old nephew, Grant, who gave her £130 from his savings after she promised she could get him a top-of-the-range mobile phone.

“Our two children were really upset to hear about what happened, because they both looked up to Fiona,” said Mrs Benson.

“My brother was devastated and we are all still coming to terms with it. After we found out what happened, it kept on getting worse as the police uncovered more things. We think all of the big things have come out, but we are still discovering what she did.

“We may never know exactly how much she took or where it all went.”

She stored all of the paperwork for the loans and credit cards in the attic of the house she shared with her husband, who was bankrupted by the fraud.

The offences came to light last December, when Mrs Benson discovered two cheques worth £500 had left her account, both in the name of Fiona Gibson.

When approached, Gibson accepted what she had done and promised to repay the money – but then did nothing.

Mrs Benson became more suspicious when her credit card balance was £2,000 lower than she had thought.

“She was very good with doing things on the internet. It wouldn’t have been too hard for her to arrange a loan in my name, because she knew everything about me,”

said Mrs Benson.

Representing Gibson at Durham Crown Court yesterday, Paul Cleasby said she was “living a secondary life”.

Judge Guy Whitburn said: “There was another man, hotels, a car and keeping up a lifestyle.

“You dissipated the money you actually received on keeping up appearances, hair, nails and matters of that nature, clearly for an illicit relationship you enjoyed for some time.

“I have come to the conclusion you are a greedy, deceitful woman.”

Mr Hunter said the amount she gained was £41,948, from £114,448 she attempted to acquire.

Gibson admitted 19 charges of either theft, obtaining by deception and fraud, and asked for five further charges to be taken into consideration.