A hotel worker who kept some of the hotel’s takings was desperate because bailiffs had called at her home as she was in arrears with her council tax, a court was told.

Eleanor Hardie said she fully intended to pay the £305 back, but her theft was revealed when the owners of the Cae Mor Hotel in Llandudno returned from holiday.

Hardie, aged 38, a mother-of-five, had pleaded guilty to theft from her employer, Marc Viercant, and after after considering a probation report magistrates in Llandudno ordered her to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.

She must also repay the £305 even though she was adamant that the money had been deducted from her wages after she was sacked in February.

The court heard that Hardie, of Maes Clyd, Craig-y-Don, Llandudno, was already working at the hotel when Mr Viercant and his wife took over in October last year, and they left her in charge when they went on holiday for three weeks in January.

On their return, however, they read a critical review of the hotel from someone who had stayed there, but Mr Viercant could find no record of their two-night stay.

The guests said they had paid by cash, and that is when the theft came to light.

Prosecutor Sheyanne Lee said that Hardie and another member of staff came under suspicion and both denied all knowledge of the missing money until it was proved that the defendant was the only one on duty when an entry was deleted in the hotel’s records.

Hardie told a probation officer that under the previous owners staff could sometimes be paid in advance if they needed money but as Mr and Mrs Viercant were away she decided to take the money.

The court heard that Mr Viercant claimed not to have received one penny of the £305 and in sentencing her chairman Graham Edwards said the Bench was concerned about the different versions of events.

“It was a clear breach of trust and responsibility,” he said.

Hardie, who is now working at a local guesthouse, must attend a 10-day rehabilitation programme to improve her thinking skills and financial management.