A mum-of-six who stole almost £50,000 from the store where she worked to fend off payday loan sharks has been spared jail.

Rose-marie Morrison cried in the dock at Maidstone Crown Court when the judge told her he would show mercy and impose a suspended sentence.

Morrison, 41, of King Edward Road, Maidstone, admitted stealing £49,512.96 from Londis on Invicta Park Barracks over two years.

As retail manager she had the responsibility for banking the takings and ordering cash for the ATM.

The court heard it was only when her bosses confronted her over a £320 discrepancy in July, she revealed the true cost of her thieving.

"You fell foul of the sharks who operate payday loan schemes and within a short period of time, temptation being there for you, matters snowballed" - Judge Statman

Morrison told police she paid back the amounts she initially took but then it got out of hand.

However, the cash was not used to fund a lavish lifestyle, but to pay bills and feed and clothe her children, four of whom were living with her at the time.

Edmund Fowler, defending, said the single parent had lost her good name, lost her job and was on the brink of losing her liberty.

Her two youngest children did not even know she was appearing in court, and she still has debts of £30,000.

Imposing two years’ jail suspended for two years and ordering Morrison carry out 240 hours’ unpaid work, Judge Philip Statman said there would always be people who passed their own judgement and say a judge got it wrong.

“That is the responsibility judges have. I take the view there remains a live and holistic approach to sentencing.”

Judge Statman said he accepted Morrison, who earned £11,000 for working five days a week, initially paid back small amounts, but then gave in to temptation.

“You fell foul of the sharks who operate payday loan schemes and within a short period of time, temptation being there for you, matters snowballed.

“The cash was always ready to hand, you had very substantial debts which stretched to tens of thousands of pounds and it was all too easy for you to dip your hands in that readily available pool of cash you would see most days at work.”