A TEENAGER who stole £2,500 from her solicitor employers and attempted to take thousands more narrowly escaped a jail sentence yesterday.

After previously being warned that custody was almost inevitable for such a serious breach of trust, magistrates yesterday granted Aimie Louise Morrell a reprieve.

The 19-year-old former typist at McArdle's Solicitors, in Darlington, admitted stealing £2,500 and attempting to steal £4,350 from the firm's client account in July.

Morrell, of Stephenson Way, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, had taken a cheque book from the firm's Duke Street practice and traced partner Geoffrey Cardwell's signature to forge two cheques.

The scam was detected by the firm's accounts department, which queried a cheque for £2,500 paid into Morrell's personal bank account.

The second cheque she had written for £4,350 was blocked before it could be cashed.

John Hardesty, mitigating, said the offences were completely out of character for Miss Morrell, who is a former North-East Millennium Volunteer of the Year.

He said: "She was influenced by a Svengali- like character, who, when he found out that she worked at a solicitors, convinced her to do this. She opened an account in her name just to do this but gave about £2,300 to this man. She is genuinely very remorseful."

Magistrates, sitting at Newton Aycliffe, sentenced Morrell to a 12-month community order during which she must complete 100 hours of unpaid work. She was also ordered to repay the money and £40 legal costs.

The scam was the second time John McArdle, a senior partner at the firm, had encountered theft by an employee.

Mr McArdle was the owner of the PMB Motors car showroom, in Darlington, which was fleeced for more than £800,000 by its financial director, Mary Blair.

She was sentenced to five years in jail by a judge at Teesside Crown Court last year.