Village hall treasurer admits £20,000 theft
A village hall treasurer has admitted stealing more than £20,000 to feed her gambling addiction.
Tracey Hills, 46, of Marche Lane near Shrewsbury, siphoned the money out of the accounts of the Halfway House and Wattlesborough Village Hall Committee over a period of six years.
Between 2005 and 2011, she stole a total of £20,100.
The money was taken from the income the village hall in Wattlesborough received for putting on events and gambled away by Hills. To hide the thefts, she provided false accounts to the committee.
Her crimes only came to light after an audit was carried out, discovering anomalies with the bank account.
Following the guilty plea, the Crown Prosecution Service is now taking steps to attempt to recover the stolen money.
Hills pleaded guilty to four counts of theft and two counts of false accounting at Shrewsbury Crown Court.
She had been facing a further five counts of theft, but pleaded not guilty with the CPS agreeing to not pursue the charges.
Hills declined to comment on the case when contacted by the Shropshire Star.
Robert Edwards, crown advocate from West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service, said Hills had 'grossly abused' her position as treasurer to take the money.
Addiction
"Tracey Hills grossly abused her position of trust and stole over £20,000 which she would use to feed her gambling addiction," he said.
"Over a period of six years, Hills siphoned thousands of pounds from income which the village hall was receiving from the use of the venue and then gambled the money away. To hide her theft, she would provide the village hall committee with false accounts.
"Her theft only came to light when an audit was carried out and anomalies were discovered in the bank accounts.
"Hills was arrested and she pleaded guilty to four counts of theft and two counts of false accounting.
"The CPS are now taking steps to recover the amount stolen."
Hills will be sentenced on June 7 at Shrewsbury Crown Court, after being granted bail by Judge Peter Barrie.
