A 'naïve' charity shop manager stole thousands of pounds from a local hospice after falling victim to an online romance scam.
Claire Starkey stole the cash from the St John's Hospice branch where she worked earlier this year, a court heard. She had fallen behind with paying her bills after being 'hoodwinked' into sending money to a man she had met online, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Yesterday (Tuesday), the mum-of-two walked free from court after a judge said she had been 'taken advantage of'. Joanne Cronshaw, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court that the 47-year-old was the manager of the charity's shop on Upton Road in Claughton.
