She was trusted by her boss of 23 years... but he had no idea what she was really up to

A gran who worked in the same job for almost 25 years has been unmasked as a thief who swiped £163,000 from her boss.

Patricia Bennett used the money to fund caravan holidays, trips to Spain and boasted on social media of a DIY pop-up pub built in the back of her newly refurbished garden. Yesterday (Thursday) at Bolton Crown Court, the 69-year-old, from Crossdale Road, Hindley Green, near Wigan, admitted fraud relating to a total of £163,111.35 and was jailed for 18 months.

Her theft was only discovered after she had retired from her role as an accounts manager and her successor started to investigate suspicious transactions going back 13 years.

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While her former employers searched for the whereabouts of the missing money, Bennett whose son-in-law is a police officer and son works in a prison, posted a series of pictures on social media, enjoying UK staycation trips, holidays in the Costa Blanca in Spain and Skiathos in Greece, as well as images of a bar she and her unsuspecting husband Lawrence erected at the rear of her home they called ''Lorenzos".

The court heard that it would emerge she had been syphoning company cash into three bank accounts - two in her name and one in the name of her Mr Bennett to whom she has been married for 50 years. On her last day at the firm in July 2021 Bennett was presented with various cards, flowers and other gifts whilst a buffet was laid on for her by colleagues.

And in a series of shameless Facebook messages after her retirement, she boasted of 'wine o'clock'' get togethers with her husband and friends and posted pictures