A housekeeper who got "ideas above her station" stole from her employers, a court was told yesterday.

Mandy Boyd, 44, was employed in October 1999 to look after frail Francis and Marcia Hudson, who were in their 80s, and lived in a cottage in the grounds of their daughter Lady Marsha Bolton's home Winterfield House, near Bedale.

Teesside Crown Court heard that Mrs Hudson died in June 2001. In February last year, Lady Bolton was shown a letter from Richmondshire District Council which said they had not received a council tax payment. Soon after a court summons was served.

Cheque stubs showed monthly payments of £269 being made, and when Lady Bolton recovered the cheques from the bank it was revealed that the cash had been used by Boyd to keep her three horses in livery stables.

Yesterday, Boyd pleaded guilty to 20 charges of obtaining £4,789 from cheques by deception and also the theft of diamond earrings and a brooch, which were sold by an auction house for £9,200 and later recovered.

Peter Johnson, prosecuting, said: "Lady Bolton had power of attorney for her father's bank accounts and as she had seen cheque stubs for council tax she was suspicious."

He said Lady Bolton confronted Boyd and she said she would pay it back but the police were called in.

Mr Hudson died last September, and when Boyd was arrested in March she admitteded using cheques for her own purposes.

Rod Hunt, mitigating, said; "She was almost seeing herself as part of the Bolton household and perhaps she got ideas above her station."

The judge, Recorder Neil Davey, deferred sentence for six months.

Boyd of Park farm, Brompton-on-Swale, was granted bail with a condition that she made an effort to repay the money