By Staff Reporter

Last updated 05:34, Friday, 01 August 2008

A WOMAN who turned around the fortunes of a failing Longtown care home appeared in court yesterday for stealing from it.

In court: Care home boss Ann Watt

Ann Watt, 46, took over as manager of Eskdale House in April 2004 and made significant improvements to the way it was run on its £500,000 a year budget.

But, Carlisle Crown Court heard, she found herself under such pressure working there that she used the home’s money to purchase food, bedding and other household items that she took home.

Watt, who used to live in Gretna but has now moved to Cleator Moor, pleaded guilty to false accounting, covering £1,331-worth of items that she bought for her own use. She had originally also been charged with theft, but that was dropped when the prosecution offered no evidence.

Judge Barbara Forrester deferred sentence until October 23 to give her time to save up enough money to pay the cash back and, perhaps, to sell her house so she could pay a fine.

The judge told her she would not be going to prison immediately, although a suspended sentence could still be imposed.

Defence counsel Kim Whittlestone said told the court that Watt, who had never been in trouble before, had been overwhelmed by the pressures of work at a time when she was experiencing difficulties in her personal life, including the death of her father.

“When she took over the home it had some difficulties and there was room for improvement,” she said. “But under her management it was brought up to scratch, even though there was an awful lot else going on in her life at the time.”

She said Watt had worked very long hours at the county council-run home, including overtime she was never paid for. She was responsible for thousands of invoices, all of which were valid except for the few she falsified.

“This is not someone who is entrenched in dishonesty,” Ms Whittlestone said. “What she did was due to the pressure she was under.”