A DAIRY clerk who stole £10,000 from her bosses was too ashamed to tell her family, a court heard yesterday.

Lesley Clark, 44, took out a bank loan to repay the money - but it still cost her job of more than 20 years when her crime was uncovered.

Teesside Crown Court heard that Clark took the money from ACC Milk over 13 months by witholding bank payments, after her husband became unemployed.

Andrew Robertshaw, prosecuting, said the thefts came to light last November when there was a query over a missing £2,000.

Clark was confronted and admitted her dishonesty, saying she intended to arrange a bank loan to repay it, which she did.

Jamie Hill, mitigating, said her husband losing his job was a financial disaster for the family. Mr Clark had since begun work as a forklift truck driver, the court heard.

Mr Hill said: "In the past, she had managed the household finances admirably and they were not used to being in debt.

"The thought of taking out a loan or applying for credit cards never occurred to her.

"The consequences have been swift. She had worked there for more than 20 years - now she has lost her reputation and is handicapped in a severe way in the job market.

"She has not been able to tell her elderly parents or her three sons."

Clark, of Scarteen Close, Guisborough, east Cleveland, was sentenced to 60 hours community punishment and two years community rehabilitation after she pleaded guilty to the theft of £9,969.49, between October 1, 2002, and November 1, last year.

She was also ordered to pay £210 prosecution costs