School treasurer, 52, stole £56,000 so she could go on spending sprees at Argos... but is spared jail

Susan McDiarmid felt 'undervalued' by her education bosses and took 'revenge'

She siphoned off thousands of pounds from schools over five years



Guilty: School treasurer Susan McDiarmid was given a suspended prison sentence for stealing £56,000 because she felt 'undervalued'

A school treasurer who stole nearly £56,000 in taxpayers' cash because she felt 'undervalued' by education bosses has been spared jail.

Susan McDiarmid, 52, went on spending sprees at Argos and other High Street stores as she sought a 'better life for her family.'

She was given a two-year suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to five counts of fraud and one count of theft.

Over five years, McDiarmid siphoned off thousands of pounds from Waterloo Primary School in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, and Broadbent Fold Primary School in Dukinfield in her role as a bursar for several schools across Tameside.

She used cheques and school credit cards to filter money away from the schools between 2006 and 2011 as well as purchasing electrical goods for herself from the schools' accounts.

The fraud unravelled when Tameside council carried out an audit after McDiarmid left her position in November 2011. She was arrested shortly after.

At Minshull Street Crown Court, Judge Maurice Greene was told McDiarmid, of Firs Avenue, Ashton-under-Lyne, worked for Tameside council for more than 20 years.

Duped: School treasurer Susan McDiarmid siphoned off thousands from the Waterloo Primary School in Ashton-under-Lyne

She confessed her crimes immediately on arrest and claimed she had started the scam to pay off her son's debts but went on to say the thefts had been acts of 'revenge' against school chiefs.

Prosecuting, Lisa Boocock said: 'She accepted she felt undervalued in the school system. She said she'd done it because she wanted revenge on those who had misused her.'

efending, Ian Ridgeway, said: 'She was paying off her son's debts and wanted a better life for her family. She admitted everything to police before the full extent was uncovered.'

Spending spree: Susan McDiarmid shopped at Argos as she sought a 'better life' for her family

Judge Greene told McDiarmid: 'These are very serious matters in which you used the high degree of trust placed in you to take this money.

'The fact you were entrusted with chequebooks, credit cards and bank money shows you could not have had a greater position of responsibility.