A DEBT-RIDDEN accountant who stole thousands of pounds raised for war heroes and their families walked free from court yesterday.

Karen Green still denies taking the money from the coffers of the support group and has even blamed others for landing her in trouble.

Green, from Brompton-on- Swale, near Richmond , North Yorkshire, was found guilty of theft and false accounting after a trial last month.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the 49-year-old mother had overall financial responsibility for the group based at Catterick Garrison.

Ian Mullarkey, prosecuting, said she held the post for two years and the fund managed substantial quantities of cash for the families of soldiers.

Over 18 months, Green stole more then £11,000 by creating false cheques and cashing them and taking money from welfare centres.

The jury also convicted her of falsifying business records to conceal the theft and make its detection more difficult, said Mr Mullarkey.

After her arrest and during her trial, and even in an interview with a probation worker, Green blamed colleagues for the missing money.

Anthony Dunne, mitigating, said: “Mrs Green is a woman of, until this year, good character, who, on the jury’s verdict, committed a foolish and reckless course of action in desperate personal financial circumstances.

“The house she has been living in has found a buyer, although at a considerably reduced price. She will effectively be homeless once the sale has been completed.

“She is not expecting to receive any proceeds from the sale of her property. It has been sold at considerable discount and any proceeds are likely to be swallowed up by debts she has had for a considerable period of time.”

Mr Dunne told Judge George Moorhouse a prison sentence would be extremely difficult because Green – who walks with two crutches – suffers from osteoarthritis and rhumetoid arthritis.

Green, of Brompton Park, wept in the dock as she was given a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, with supervision, and a four-month curfew from 9pm to 7am.

In a statement, a spokesman for the White Rose and Dalesman Community Centres said: “The loss of this money has had a major effect on our ability to provide welfare services to meet the needs of the community, especially during deployment.”