[A] MOTHER-of-five who flouted a court punishment she was given for stealing more than £28,000 from a pensioner has been given a final chance to comply.
Rosemary Atkinson, 31, was handed a suspended two-year jail term at Carlisle Crown Court last year, and also ordered to complete 250 hours’ unpaid work. This was imposed after Atkinson plundered the savings of her partner’s elderly grandfather to fund her “out-of-control” gambling addiction.
But Atkinson was brought back to the crown court today (FRI), when a judge concluded she had made “derisory” effort to tackle the unpaid work. It was said by her barrister she had completed just 41 hours and had 209 outstanding.
Atkinson admitted breaching the order by failing to attend an appointment in October without good reason. She was said to have prioritised family commitments and had put forward a “plethora” of medical documents to the court.
After hearing the probation service was willing to see if she could comply, Recorder Julian Shaw decided not to activate the jail term and instead imposed a one-month might-time curfew.
Atkinson, of Central Road, Whitehaven, was also also extra time to complete the unpaid work.
But she was told by Recorder Shaw: “Do the work, that will be the end of the matter. Don’t do the work, pack your toothbrush because you are going to jail.”
