A solicitor's wife who stole nearly £80,000 from her husband's law firm to spend up to £500 a night on bingo-hall fruit machines has been jailed for ten months.

Susanne Orton, 63, was a conveyancing assistant at Harold G. Walker, in Bournemouth, where her husband was a senior partner. She had already spent £100,000 of her family's savings when she took the money from the firm's account, a court was told.

She was said to have become addicted to gambling as a way of relieving the stress of long hours at work and would go out five nights a week.

James Patrick, for the prosecution, said that Orton began frittering away her family's savings in 2004. She spent £30,000 that she and her husband had saved for a deposit on a buy-to-let property, their fourth such home.

Mr Patrick said: “The £30,000 had been spent by Mrs Orton, who had gambled it away on fruit machines. She moved £30,000 from a client account into their account and she kept moving money.”

He said that this continued until she was found out, by which time the total stolen had reached £79,655.

In 2006, while the couple were on holiday in Egypt, the firm noticed financial irregularities and began an investigation. Mr Patrick said: “When they returned, Mrs Orton became aware of the investigation and as a result set up a transfer of money to another account to repay £63,000.”

The couple were both arrested but Mr Orton was released without charge. He has since repaid all the money plus interest, but has lost his job.

Mrs Orton admitted four charges of theft and four of false accounting at an earlier hearing.

Susan Evans, in mitigation, said that Orton, from Bournemouth, was a “pathologic gambler” who was “utterly appalled” by her behaviour. She said that the stress and long hours of her job led her to seek relief by gambling on fruit machines at Gala Bingo in the town.

She said: “Such was the stress that she turned to gambling and was out up to five nights a week spending up to £500 a night. She spent £100,000 of their own money.”

She added: “Everything snowballed and she robbed Peter to pay Paul. Her real fear was that her husband would find out.”

Sentencing her, Judge Christopher Harvey Clark, QC, said: “The offences involve so much money and took place over such a long period and involved such duplicity on your part that the court has no alternative but to pass a custodial sentence. This is a sad day for you and I'm sorry I've had to pass this sentence.”

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