A 'despicable' thief stole £111,000 from a hotel owner who gave her a trusted job then forced her to hand over more money by threatening to take her to an employment tribunal for holiday pay.
Anne Park, who had owned and run the hotel in Northumberland since 1977, had given Charlotte Lowery a chance by employing her and she ended up looking after the finances. But Lowery betrayed the trust placed in her by stealing huge sums to fund her online gambling habit.
Newcastle Crown Court heard Mrs Park, 71, has been left devastated, is being forced to sell her home to make up for the black hole in her finances and her hopes of retiring and leaving a thriving business to her sons are in ruins. Now mother-of-five Lowery, 36, of Willow Close, Lesbury, Alnwick, has been jailed for theft.
