It advertises itself as an "oasis in the centre of Rochester". And the Amazing Space beauty salon also turned out to be a goldmine for a crooked receptionist.

Amanda Palk helped herself to the takings to pay for her horse's vet bills until her boss smelt a rat and uncovered her dishonesty.

Palk worked for two years at the salon in Rochester High Street, which has 4,000 clients and offers waxing, facials, massages and manicures.

She was considered a friend by salon director Andrea Kingsley Smith, but just four months after she joined began taking customers' payments for herself, Medway magistrates were told.

Magistrates heard the trusted receptionist, 36, used the funds, which the salon director claimed could have totalled £10,000 - to pay for rent and vet bills for her horse.

Palk, of Stangate Road, Rochester, admitted fraud by abuse of position but told police she had taken only £750 in May this year, and had not deleted computer records.

The court heard the salon boss noticed weekly reports were not matching up to card records on May 31, and began digging deeper.

Debbie Jones, prosecuting, said: "She did further investigations and discovered the defendant had been putting through payments, and deleting the appointments on the computer.

"She discovered the only times the takings and the reports tallied up were the times when the defendant was on leave.

"The defendant sent a text to her admitting she had taken some money. At a disciplinary hearing she admitted to taking money every day since October 2009."

Palk was hired as a receptionist in 2009 at the salon, above and described on its website as "a world of complete sensory heaven" and "an oasis in the centre of Rochester".

Her role was to book appointments and take customer payments. Daily and weekly reports were produced, monitoring the takings through the front desk.

When police interviewed her, she told them her marriage had broken down and she was struggling to pay for rent and vet bills for her horse.

She claimed to have defrauded the salon out of £750 over one month, but her boss said the difficulty in tracking down payments meant £10,000 could have been taken over two years.

The case was adjourned so the exact amount could be confirmed.
Palk will be sentenced by magistrates on October 5.