Woman stole football kids' money

Yvonne Ford-Scott, of Fletcher Way, Angmering, forged signatures on cheques to help herself to around 6,000 from the bank account of Wick Dynamos Junior FC, Chichester Crown Court heard on Friday.

She pleaded guilty to seven counts of theft and one of obtaining a money transfer by deception, and was sentenced to a two-year community rehabilitation order.

A committee member of the club, which runs 14 teams with almost 200 players, said officials felt "betrayed" by Ford-Scott's actions.

"With a club like ours, you have a right to trust people. I wouldn't expect anyone to want to get involved unless they wanted to be helpful.

"It's a very sad business for everyone linked to the club, for the volunteers who give up their time to help, and for the children."

The offences came to light when a school reported to the club that a cheque it had tried to cash as a payment for the use of training facilities had bounced.

When she was confronted with the matter, Ford-Scott admitted she had stolen the money.

The court heard she had returned around 1,500 of the cash to the club.

The committee member, who asked not to be named, said officials had checked bank statements going back a decade and found regular cash payments had been made across the counter at the Rustington branch of Barclays bank, for sums mostly of around 200-400.

The bounced cheque had come as a surprise to the committee, he added, as Ford-Scott had presented a financial report to the annual meeting last year showing a 13,000 surplus.

"We couldn't understand it. We believed, as a committee, the bank must have made an error in bouncing the cheque."

When an official went to the bank to find out what had happened, he was told that the account had just 340 in it.

Although audited accounts had been presented to the club's annual meeting during the nine years Ford-Scott was treasurer, it turned out that the auditor was fictitious.

Since the thefts were discovered, the club has taken steps to make its finances more secure.

"We now have the situation under control. The accounts are open to being checked and everyone gets to see the bank statements.

"Our finances are in quite good shape again now, and the kids are no worse off than they would have been. We make sure that they get what they need.

"It has been a real shock for everyone involved, but this is the time for everyone to rally behind the club.

"We have been going for 35 years now, and we would like to think the club will still be around in another 35 years' time," the committee member added.