A former bar supervisor who embezzled thousands of pounds from an Aberdeen Airport pub was ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service yesterday.
Alison Barbour always denied taking nearly £4,000 from the Granite City bar at Dyce when she worked there in 2012.
But when the 36-year-old’s ex-lover – who had turned her in after they split up – told Aberdeen Sheriff Court how she watched her count the stolen notes, she was found guilty of the offence.
Sentencing Barbour yesterday, Sheriff Graham Buchanan told her that although what she had done was a “serious offence”, her actions did not warrant a custodial sentence.
He ordered her to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work in the community which she must complete in eight months.
He added that he would not impose a fine, and that it was up to the owners – JD Wetherspoon – to take action to reclaim the money lost.
Last night, a spokesman for the company declined to comment on whether they would take legal action, but said they “respected” the decision taken by the sheriff.
During Barbour’s trial earlier this year, the court heard how she slipped a moneybag full of £10 and £20 notes into her pocket while she cashed up on January 26, 2012.
Barbour denied the offence – but her former partner, Jennifer Law, whom she had been in a civil partnership with, said she watched as she counted out the money at home, which totalled £3,920.
Ms Law told the court: “She texted me one day after she had been questioned about it originally and asked me what would happen if she had taken the money.
“When I asked her what she meant she said she would talk to me about it when I got home that evening. It was then she took out the cash and started counting it in 10s and 20s.”
Ms Law told the court how a week later the couple split up.
“I couldn’t keep her secret any more and I went to the police,” she said.
Delivering his guilty verdict last month, Sheriff Buchanan said he had “no hesitation” in believing Ms Law’s version of events and said that her evidence about counting the notes was of “utmost importance”.
He described Barbour, of Flat 16, 50 Kingsway Court, Glasgow, as “untruthful” and found her guilty of a “gross breach of trust”.