Edinburgh Charity Worker Admits Taking Cash

A charity worker stole £1,100 from the cancer care shop she managed in Edinburgh while claiming almost £4,000 in income support for “being ill”.

Alexis Hughes told the Inland Revenue she was too ill to work, then took a paid role as assistant manager at Marie Curie Cancer Care in Edinburgh.

Hughes, 40, claimed benefits while being paid by the charity.

Hughes pleaded guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court to taking £1,168 from the Lothian Road shop on 24-26 May 2007.

She also pleaded guilty to wrongly claiming £3,942 of income support benefit from the Inland Revenue for 10 months from October 2005 while she was working for the charity.

She was in charge of delivering the charity shop takings to the bank each day but in May last year pocketed the money for herself.

Police were called after Hughes walked into the shop and handed over her keys to a colleague, saying “I’ve done something terrible”.

Hughes, of Edinburgh, began working as a volunteer for the charity in September 2005 before becoming assistant manager, with responsibility the shop takings each day.

A supervisor was contacted after Hughes surrendered her keys and it was discovered that the takings had not been banked since earlier in the month.

Shop staff agreed not to contact police after Hughes promised to pay back the money in fortnightly instalments of £25.

But officers were eventually called in when she failed to honour the agreement.

Simon Collins, defending, told the court financial difficulties had led Hughes to commit the offences and she had now paid back all but £490 of the money stolen.

She will be sentenced next month after reports.