A mother-of-three who ripped off a top firm of accountants to the tune of more than £40,000 has been sent to prison.

Trusted Emma Dawkins, 40, worked for financial advisers Kreston Reeves for 10 years, paying invoices at its office in St Margaret’s Street, Canterbury.

But after the break-up of her marriage, she siphoned off £41,473 in just 13 months, Canterbury Crown Court has heard.

Now Dawkins, of Godwin Road, Canterbury, has pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position.

Friends and former colleagues revealed how they felt betrayed by her deception.

Prosecutor Robert De Banzie said Dawkins was an employee at the company, raising cheques to pay invoices and keeping a digital ledger.

But secretly she began altering details to cover up her crafty thieving by adding two names before cashing the cheques.

Mr De Banzie added that she took 24 cheques from July 2015 to September the following year.

The fraud was only discovered when Kreston Reeves queried irregularities on an invoice with a supplier.

She was suspended after four cheques were unearthed – but a new investigation revealed she had done it 20 more times.

Dawkins then confirmed to her bosses in emails that she had stolen the money and resigned, offering to repay the money at £100 a month.

She said that after her marital split she wanted to prove to her estranged husband she could run her home and pay her mortgage.

Daniel Stevenson, defending, said the money was spent on household expenditure and gifts and holidays for the children.

“She is deeply, deeply ashamed of her behaviour, “ he added.

But Judge Simon James, in jailing her for a year, told Dawkins she had planned and used subterfuge to carry out the fraud – even using sticky tape to cover up her actions.

He said: “Over a period of a year you stole this money from this accountancy firm where you had been a trusted employee for a decade.

“You quite deliberately and systematically abused that trust by raising invoices and ensuring they were paid directly to your own bank account.

“Difficult although it was after the break-up of your marriage, there are many suffering much more acute circumstances than yours who do not turn to crime or dishonesty.

“This is too serious for a sentence other than prison.”

Kreston Reeves says Dawkins’ fraudulent actions involved no clients or client funds.

“She is deeply, deeply ashamed of her behaviour" - Daniel Stevenson, defending

A spokesman said: “This sophisticated attempt to defraud the firm was uncovered by the firm’s systems and procedures.

“Mrs Dawkins was dismissed pending the firm’s own investigations, and was reported to the police.

“Kreston Reeves takes great pride in the people who work at the firm to provide the very best service we can for our clients.

“The firm extends considerable responsibility to its employees, and in this instance that was abused.

“We are disappointed that Mrs Dawkins did not adhere to the high standards we set.”

An investigation is to be launched now under the Proceeds Of Crime Act to recover the money.