A WOMAN described by her former boss as 'wicked beyond belief' has been jailed after pleading guilty to stealing more than £118,000 from the company.

Carolyn George worked for Tavistock Motor Bodies for 16 years as office administrator and book-keeper.

Plymouth Crown Court was last Friday told she was so trusted that she was allowed to sign company cheques on her own.

But she abused that trust by stealing more than £118,000 from the company and a further £74,000 from Worthy Finance.

Prosecutor Sally Dalton said on November 11 last year, George rang her boss Alan Rowe and resigned, telling him she had stolen money from his company.

George, aged 50 of Cramber Close, Tavistock, was arrested, but gave police a prepared statement and refused to answer any questions during two interviews.

She later pleaded guilty to four charges:

l Fraud by false representation between August 17 and October 15 last year against Worthy Finance.

l Theft of £118,549.17 from Tavistock Motor Bodies between December 1, 2009, and October 31 last year.

l Concealing criminal property — £192,834.11 – between December 1, 2009, and October 23 last year and

l False accounting by falsifying cheque stubs between December 1, 2009, and October 31 last year.

She filled in 55 cheque stubs with fake details of recipients including suppliers and British Gas.

Ms Dalton said George claimed to have stolen the money to pay debts owed by her late husband. When police checked her bank account, they found it overdrawn.

Judge Francis Gilbert QC ordered the victim impact statement of Alan Rowe to be read in full.

Writing after George's arrest, Mr Rowe, 57, said he had established his business in 1974 and built it up through hard work and family input.

It had a good reputation in the insurance repair industry and turned over £930,000 a year, enough to give him and his family a decent living and employ 14 full-time workers.

He said he had trusted George implicitly.

But last summer she told him they were not trading at a level which would enable them to pay their bills on time, and frequently hit their overdraft limit.

Mr Rowe reluctantly made two workers redundant.

He said: 'I now believe these two men lost their jobs because Carolyn George was systematically stealing from us.

'I now realise I was getting a bad reputation with suppliers and incurring bank charges and Inland Revenue late charges.

'She was careful and devious and the result of her dishonesty was a debt of £200,000.

'My credit rating was totally destroyed and a successful small business was on the point of ruin, with 11 jobs at risk.

'To me, she can only be described as evil — she is wicked beyond belief.'

McKenzie Robinson, for George, said there was nothing about his client's lifestyle to suggest she personally profited from her crimes.

'Her motivation remains shrouded in mystery,' he said.

Judge Gilbert said: 'This is a very serious case of breach of trust.'

He jailed George for three years and set a timetable for confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Outside the court, Mr Rowe said he had hoped George would receive a longer sentence.

But he revealed that his company had managed to clear its debts and was now thriving again.

'The two men who lost their jobs have been re-employed and we are looking to take on more staff; business is very good,' he said.