Ex-Gulliver's Kingdom worker is jailed after stealing £50,000 from the till

A THEME park worker who stole £50,000 from Gulliver's Kingdom has been jailed for 18 months.

Derby Crown Court heard that Jill Marshall would pocket money from the Matlock Bath theme park by not issuing an admission ticket to every paying customer.

A line manager became suspicious in May 2011 because her till did not add up at the end of the day. She also had £203 in her pockets, which was in breach of company rules which only allowed staff to carry £10.

Marshall, who had never been in trouble before, said to the manager: "This doesn't look good, does it?"

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The police were called and an 18-month investigation was launched into the 54-year-old's activities. She was found to have stolen cash between 2004 and 2010.

Judge David Pugsley ordered Marshall, who had previously pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation, to repay the cash in six months and was told she would have to sell her home.

He told her: "You have lived a useful, caring, kindly life but you stole in a position of trust and that sort of behaviour will not be tolerated."

Justin Wigoder, prosecuting, told the court that Marshall, of Willowbath Lane, Wirksworth, was regarded as a "trustworthy and reliable" employee at the complex.

He said that even though CCTV had been fitted, she hid family tickets behind the printer until a cash customer arrived.

He said: "On one day, she took £600. The scope and scale of the theft can be seen as a broad picture."

He told the court she spent some of the money on a holiday in the Maldives and while shopping in Cornwall.

Sonal Ahya, in mitigation, said some of the stolen cash went on family gifts and that Marshall was "truly, truly sorry". She said: "She put herself in this position but has demonstrated a degree of regret by acknowledging guilt."

A Derbyshire police spokeswoman said the sentencing was the culmination of an 18-month investigation in which detectives worked closely with the company to examine around nine years worth of receipts in order to identify Marshall's fraudulent transactions.

Investigating officer DC Kevin Rivington said: "The discovery of this fraud was understandably very upsetting for the family who run Gullivers.

"Marshall had worked there for more than 20 years and was a respected, trusted and much-liked employee.