A former employee of a Norfolk petrol station, who defrauded her employer out of £21,000, has been spared jail.
According to the Watton and Swaffham Times, 32-year old Hannah Brand took “as much as she could get away with” for over two years while employed as an assistant at the Aerolite Garage in Watton.She pleaded guilty at Norwich Magistrates Court in June to theft by an employee, for offences that took place between April 2024 and February 2026, but was only sentenced last week.
The single mother admitted regularly stealing cash and food items at the petrol station and MOT garage. Her theft was discovered when the owner of the business, Steve Parrott, began to notice discrepancies in the accounts. He had initially estimated losses to the business of between £30,000 and £40,000.
A pre-sentence report had been ordered to look at all options, including being immediately sent to jail or having the case committed to the Crown Court. Magistrates decided to suspend a 12-month prison sentence for 18 months with requirements for Brand to do 100 hours of unpaid work and rehabilitation days.
They said they came to this decision after they had considered her previous good character and claims that she was the victim of a controlling relationship and suffering from post-natal depression at the time of the thefts
