A rugby club barmaid pocketed cash intended for a youth team tour because she was too ashamed to ask her family for money.

Magistrates in Llandudno heard that Aurora Hardman, who worked at Colwyn Bay Rugby Club, found herself desperately short of money after Christmas last year.

On January 22 she was given an envelope containing £1,680 in cash and cheques worth £730 which was to be put in a safe, but when the treasurer counted it £400 was found to be missing.

Hardman, of Y Glyn, Llandudno Junction, denied taking the money and when told that her fingerprints were found on a note in the envelope she explained that the envelope had been open and that she might have touched the note.

However, the cash figure detailed on the envelope had also been changed.

She continued to deny the offence until the day of her trial, when she changed her plea to guilty.

A probation officer told the court that Hardman, a mother-of-three, had substantial debts after Christmas but was too ashamed and embarrassed to ask relatives for help even though they would have been willing to do so.

Her solicitor Craig Hutchinson told the court: “She now accepts she should have pleaded guilty some time ago.”

Hardman was given a 12-month community order to include 100 hours of unpaid work and five days of rehabilitation to improve her thinking skills.

She must also refund the £400 and pay court costs of 200 and an £85 surcharge.