who stole Wags’ jewellery was benefit cheat

A TRUSTED cleaner who stole more than ￡20,000 worth of jewellery from footballers’ wives was committing benefit fraud at the time of the thefts, a court heard.

Christine French pocketed more than ￡25,000 in benefits that she was not entitled to while working as a cleaner for former Sunderland striker David Healy and Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper.

The 57-year-old visibly trembled in the dock as the court was told that she had fraudulently claimed between ￡100 and ￡120 a week while cleaning the plush family homes in Ponteland’s Darras Hall estate - a favourite among footballers.

Susan Hirst, defending, told the court that French was “really robbing Peter to try and pay Paul” after her husband of 30 years suddenly left her in a state of financial chaos.

French owed a crippling ￡10,000 in loans and a further ￡5,000 in finance.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that when French initially began claiming income support and council tax benefit in September 2003, she was entitled to the payments.

However, after starting work as a cleaner on August 1, 2005, she continued to claim the money, which she was no longer entitled to, until she was sacked after the thefts were noticed in late 2010.

James Adkin, prosecuting, said French had fraudulently claimed a total of ￡25,895.08 while working as a cleaner and offering an ironing service.

Miss Hirst said French currently has ￡10.80 a week deducted from her benefits to re-pay that amount.

She said: “All the offences rose from the financial mess she was in. Her husband of 30 years left her suddenly with a huge amount of debt.

“Life has been a real struggle for her over the last seven to eight years.

“She has been struggling with depression since her husband left her. This really has ruined her life.”

French, of Stephenson Way, Winlaton, Gateshead, pleaded guilty to three counts of benefit fraud.

Sentencing her to 12 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, Judge John Evans said “she would have faced immediate custody if the matters had come to light at the same time” as the thefts.

She was also given a supervision requirement for six months.

In May 2011 Judge Richard Lowden sentenced French to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, with supervision for 12 months, after she pleaded guilty to three charges of theft relating to ￡20,000 of rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings.

At the hearing for the first offence, the court was told French had fallen prey to the temptation of the “wealth she was surrounded by” and pocketed precious gems belonging to the wives of Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper and former Sunderland striker David Healy.

The self employed cleaner - who was paid around ￡30 per week for her services - sold or pawned the stolen items to help pay off her colossal debts.

The court heard French was not only trusted to clean the homes of the families, but would also babysit the Harper’s children.

It was Lynsey Harper who first grew suspicious after a gold and diamond bangle of hers went missing and French claimed to have found again when she was asked about it.

Some weeks later Mrs Harper, who had just got back from a break in Las Vegas, noticed a 19ct gold ring and an 18ct gold chain were missing.

When she spoke to Emma Healy and a third woman, Mrs Varley, about it the women told her they had noticed pieces of jewellery missing from their homes too.

French was confronted and admitted what she had done.

Because she owned up so quickly ￡14,000 worth of jewellery was recovered from pawn shops and jewellers where she had taken them.

Judge Richard Lowden told her at the time: “These were valuable items of jewellery you stole.

“You stole from people who trusted you and in circumstances where you were allowed to get on with what you were doing because they trusted you.

“You had access to these people’s homes and their property. You felt temptation and took what was theirs because you were short of money at the time and they appeared not to be.

“You weren’t guilty of using your ill-gotten gains to finance a lavish lifestyle and because when all this came to light you came clean and accepted immediately what you had done fortunately a lot of this jewellery was able to be recovered and returned to these householders.

“The trouble with jewellery is it is often not the value of the jewellery but the sentimental value to its owner, rich people have sentiments just as poor people have sentiments.”