Mother, 29, is spared jail for stealing £10,000 in charity donations for sick children to fund her WAG lifestyle after claiming her son was fathered by top footballer

A mother has been spared jail after stealing up to £10,000 in charity donations to help fund a WAG lifestyle after claiming her son was fathered by a top-flight footballer.

Olivia Spencer, 29, who worked as a clerk for a hospital charity pocketed cash handouts given by well-wishers after telling a colleague she had a child with the unnamed football ace.

The handouts were supposed to help patients at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital (RCMH) and other health facilities but prosecutors said Spencer, of Prestwich, Bury, instead used it to live a lifestyle 'disproportionate' to her means.

Manchester Crown Court was not given details of her lavish living but Facebook pictures showed Spencer enjoying cocktails in a trendy bar, days out to the seaside plus a trip to New York.

She was caught after donors to the Manchester Foundation Charity complained they had not received the usual 'thank you' notes when dropping off cash.

Victims of the thefts included a primary teaching school assistant who had raised £400 for the hospital after her daughter was admitted with a brain tumour.

A local children's nursery had also raised money with a cake sale whilst a primary school which donated £400 from the proceeds of a children's show got a letter back saying the charity only received £195.

At Manchester Crown Court, Spencer, who hired a leading London barrister to defend her, admitted theft by employee and was giving six months jail suspended for a year.

She was also ordered to carry out six days of rehabilitation activity and 180 hours of unpaid work. A judge said if she went to immediate custody her two children would 'suffer'. She gave birth to her second child following her arrest.

The thefts took place between October 2018 and and March 2019 whilst Spencer and a colleague worked in an office at the RMCH fielding cash donations intended for ten hospitals across Greater Manchester.

Prosecutor Miss Denise Fitzpatrick said: 'Their job was to receive donations from members of the public, sign the receipt book for each donation given without having counted it and then place the money into the safe to be collected later.

'Olivia Spencer received workplace training but after she began her employment, discrepancies in cash donations became apparent and an investigation was undertaken. The discrepancies came to light because donors contacted the charity to ask why they had not received a note of thanks for their respective donations and an acknowledgement of receipt. The receipt book was then checked.'

Investigations showed Spencer had fielded cash from donors on 21 different occasions but the charity had no record of the money being received.

Further inquiries revealed those donations were not accounted for in the deposits log for the charity's safe.

When staff searched Spencer's office drawer, they found a handwitten note referring to '205', which was the amount missing from the primary school's £400 donation.

During the inquiry it also emerged that when Manchester College students donated £274, Spencer told college staff they were not allowed to pose for a picture of a cheque being handed over.

Miss Fitzpatrick added: 'Olivia Spencer was placed on restricted duties but she then phoned in and said she was ill due to work-related stress.

'During the investigation it emerged that whilst working at the charity her description of her lifestyle appeared disproportionate to the income she received. She told one of her colleagues that a footballer was the father of her son although she never gave the footballer's name.'

In a statement the director of the trust said: 'The money stolen by Olivia made a huge impact on our work colleagues.

'Other members of staff were interviewed although the evidence clearly pointed to who had stolen the money. The thefts had a negative impact on the reputation of the charity. Only four of the 21 donors have given subsequent donations.'

The court heard investigators could only account for £1,236.30 from nine of the 21 suspicious transactions due to receipts being for 'uncounted cash.'

The total amount of the remaining donations are not known and it is believed the missing money totals more than £10,000. During an interview Spencer denied wrongdoing. She had no previous convictions.

In mitigation for Spencer, who currently lives off handouts, defence counsel Mr Dudley Beal said his client was of 'previous good character' and that she had not offended in the five years since the thefts.

He said her crime had been 'opportunistic rather than deliberate' and she had expressed 'genuine remorse'. The court also heard Spencer's father had died of cancer and she now has two children aged four and 12.

In sentencing Spencer the judge, Mr Recorder Geoffrey Lowe told her: 'These were mean offences. You stole quantities of cash that had been taken to your employers as charitable contributions for the broader purposes of the hospital trust.

'The effect of your behaviour was to cast suspicion on your work colleagues as there had to be work enquiries made. Another direct consequence of your behaviour was donors losing faith in donating more money.

'Those donations had been raised by the endeavour of people genuinely trying to reward the hospital trust for their treatment of patients. It is indicated that at the time of the thefts you were immature and did not resolve the situation in a sensible way - nevertheless you pilfered, you stole money.

'But I have regard to the fact these offences took place five years ago and since then you have given birth to a child and your remorse is genuine. I take the view I can suspend the sentence because there's a prospect of rehabilitation and also, significantly, if you were now to go to immediate custody your two children would suffer.'

After the hearing, Tanya Hamid, director of Manchester Foundation Trust Charity, said: 'This sends a strong message that theft or fraud against NHS charities is totally unacceptable.

'We'd like to thank everyone who has continued to support the charity, enabling us to fund excellence in treatment, research and care across our family of hospitals. As swift action was taken, we can assure our supporters that this individual has not impacted on our ability to fund life-changing and life-saving projects.'