A mother raised hundreds of pounds to put towards the funeral costs of a much-loved member of her local community then stole it.
Leanne Fox approached Kelly Hails after her mum, Margaret Graham, died in January 2019 and said she would raise funds.
Kind members of the local community were only to happy to dip into their pockets to help and a total of £590 was raised.
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But Kelly heard no more from Fox and when she approached her seven months later, she told her "people had been greedy" and only donated £48 to £58 and that she would just buy a canvas.
No canvas was bought and in April 2020 Kelly was approached by a local resident who told her he had donated £75.
Graham O'Sullivan, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court: "This was 15 months after the funeral but she decided to message people asking if they gave money and she was told by a large number of people that they had done so."
Kelly confronted Fox, who told her she only had £160 to give her.
Mr O'Sullivan told the court: "The defendant told her it was her fault she didn't get the money raised because she didn't live on the estate any more."
Fox later gave Kelly's daughter £160, saying "she deserved it more than her mother".
The 38-year-old mum-of-three, of Larkspur, Gateshead, who has two previous convictions as a youth, pleaded guilty to theft and was sentenced to a 12 month community order with 50 hours unpaid work.
Recorder Geraldine Kelly told her: "This was a mean offence."
Fiona Lamb, defending, said there have been repercussions in the local community for Fox which have been "further punishment".
She said: "Her nine-year-old daughter was approached in the school yard and told the defendant was going to prison. It's been incredibly upsetting for her and her daughter.
"This is very much out of character.
"She went into it all to innocently try to raise some money, the downfall is she didn't keep any records of it.
"She set out with good intentions but got a bit lost with the donations.
"The way she has been treated by people on the estate has been punishment enough.
"There have been false allegations to social workers and she was put on a child protection plan but was taken off that very quickly.
"There have been complaints to housing officers and teachers.
"One time, in 2020, people stood outside her house, soon after the incident came to light.
"A lot of the women have moved away and things have quietened down."
Asked what had happened to the money, Miss Lamb said she didn't know.
The court heard Fox is remorseful and a low risk of harm and further offending.
