Charity shop boss jailed for £26,000 theft

Newbury woman siphoned off cash from Dogs Trust

A MANAGER at The Dogs Trust shop in Newbury has been jailed for cheating the charity out of more than £26,000.

There were gasps and sobbing in the public gallery at Reading Crown Court on Friday, September 28, as a judge told 43-year-old mother of two Donna Louise Richardson that she would be going straight from the dock to a prison cell.

Richardson, who was living at Kersey Crescent, Speen, siphoned off the cash from donations and sales at the Northbrook Street shop over a six-month period and was only caught due to an internal audit.

Police who raided her home found huge wads of cash stuffed into a collection of handbags.

At the Crown court sentencing hearing Alan Blake, prosecuting, said the store would be running at a loss for the next two years thanks to Richardson’s criminality.

For the full report of the sentencing, see this week's Newbury Weekly News.