A WALL Heath woman has been jailed for stealing nearly £74,000 from her employers to fund an online gambling addiction.

Wolverhampton Crown Court was told Michelle Oliver admitted to police she frittered away all the money and an investigation later revealed she had no assets.

Defence barrister Andrew Wallace told the court the 44-year-old divorced mother-of-three lost all the money betting had certainly not lived an extravagant lifestyle.

Mr Wallace said: "She does not own her home, it is rented, she has no jewellery and she does not even have a car.

"The money was all wasted on her gambling addiction, she does not seek to justify her actions. She accepts the money was just frittered away."

He said the thefts had quickly been traced and there had been no attempt to lay a false trail or implicate others in her criminality.

Oliver, a woman of previous good character, had been employed as accounts manager at CVT Vehicle Services in Moor Street, Brierley Hill, where she stole a total of £68,903.

She was rumbled when HMRC officers paid a visit to inquire about an unpaid £16,000 bill for PAYE and it was then discovered she had siphoned off the money over an 18 month period.

Rhydian James, prosecuting, said Terence Oakley, CVT's owner, had considered taking out a loan for £50,000 to ensure they kept trading after being "betrayed" by Oliver.

She had previously been employed by PWC Access in Stirchley, Birmingham, as an office manager and she stole £5,085 from the firm in just four weeks.

The hearing was also told when Oliver won she used her winnings for further gambling and she admtted being "staggered" when told just how much money she had lost.

Recorder Denis Desmond told Oliver, who wiped away a tear as she sat in the dock, she had clearly been in a high position of trust with the two firms and the bulk of the money she stole had been used for gambling.

Oliver, of New Street, admitted two theft charges involving a total of £73,988, she was jailed for 13 months.