Former builders merchant in charity fraud

A former credit controller from builders merchant Travis Perkins will be jailed after pleading guilty to stealing charity donations.
Kirsty Archer, who used to work for Travis Perkins in Northampton, lied about having breast cancer and kept charity donations. She also stole from friends and colleagues.

Archer is estimated to have stolen upwards of £1000 collected by fellow staff and friends through coffee mornings, raffles and sponsored walks as well as jewelry and money from friends’ homes.

A sentence has been postponed to allow the probation service to prepare a report, however Judge Richard Bray said that the offences definitely merited a custodial sentence.

He said: “This was a very deliberate and mean fraud in people’s own homes and charity fund-raising. If you’re up to that you go to prison.”