Council clerk stole £160,000 from taxpayers to fund her 'shopping addiction' by forging cheques with an erasable PEN

Patricia Bell tricked councillors into signing cheques she had filled out
But Bell, whose salary was £46,000, removed the name by heating the ink
Later she would then fill her own details into the blank space
She paid £110,000 worth of altered cheques into her account
Also paid £45,000 pounds of additional cheques, including salary payments

PUBLISHED: 08:41 EST, 7 October 2013 | UPDATED: 09:49 EST, 7 October 2013

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Patricia Bell tricked councillors she worked for into thinking they were signing legitimate cheques after she had written the correct name using a special pen

A council clerk used an erasable pen to steal £162,000 of taxpayers money to bankroll a 'shopping addiction'.

Patricia Bell tricked councillors she worked for into thinking they were signing legitimate cheques which she had filled out in ink.

But once they had signed them Bell, a Whitehill Town Council clerk, would remove the name by heating the ink. She would then fill her details into the blank space.

Today Bell, 58, who earned £46,000 a year, was jailed for 28 months after a judge heard she used the stolen funds to pay for expensive handbags and holidays.

She paid £110,000 worth of altered cheques into her account and transferred another £45,000 pounds worth of additional cheques, which included extra salary payments.

Bell also claimed £7,000 worth of expenses including food shopping bills, receipts and eBay purchases - taking the total to £162,000.

Winchester Crown Court heard she used the money to fuel a 'shopping addiction' which enabled her to pay for holidays, handbags and nail manicures.

Bell stole the huge sum of money from Whitehill Town Council in Hampshire during a five year period.

Prosecutor Tom Wright said that she abused her position of trust within the council.

He said: 'Mrs Bell had a position of trust in a small council who all work very hard.

'But over the years cheques and balances were eroded by her manipulation.

'In 2012, the council noticed that it was running a deficit in several of its accounts.

'Mrs Bell had been in sole control of payments including invoicing and the pay roll.

'Her system operated on a cash and cheque basis and she ended up exploiting this system.

'She would get cheques signed by councillors. Her method was to write the payee’s name on the cheque using a fabric pen - a pen that uses special ink that can be easily removed.

'Mrs Bell would write a legitimate name on the cheque and get a councillor to sign it - they trusted her after her long time at the council.

'She would then rub out the initial payee’s name and fill in her own details on the cheque. By doing this, she was able to take large sums of money from the council.'

Once councillors identified financial irregularities an internal investigation was launched and Bell was forced to attend a meeting with senior councillors.

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She admitted the allegations were true and was suspended for potential gross misconduct.

The council then commissioned an independent investigator to ascertain the facts of the financial irregularities.
On February 18, 2013, the council dismissed Bell on the grounds she abused procedures to pay herself by falsifying reports, accounts and expense claims.

Bell was then arrested and later charged with fraud by abuse of position.

Anthony Rimmer, defending, claimed his client had worked hard in the public sector up until the incidents that took place from 2007.

Once they had signed them Bell, 58, would remove the correct name by heating the ink and replace it with her details

Today Bell, 58, who earned £46,000 a year in her role for the council, was jailed for 28 months after a judge heard she used the stolen funds to pay for expensive handbags and holidays

He said: 'Mrs Bell had spent 37 years working in the public sector, working for Action for Children and other district councils.

'It was only until she turned 53 that she started doing this. She would often throw away the fabric pens in a bid to stop what she was doing, but ended up buying more.'

The former chairman and treasurer of the Hampshire Society of Local Councils pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by abuse of position.

She sat in the dock with her head down for most of the sentencing, holding a box of tissues throughout.

Bell would write a legitimate name on the cheque and get a councillor to sign it - then erase it

The married mother-of-two was wearing a black and grey striped dress and tears streamed down her face when her sentence was read out.

Judge Linda Sullivan said: 'In May 2006, you were employed by Whitehill Town Council as the town council clerk and financial officer.

'You had a salary of £46,000 pounds. Nevertheless, in April 2007 you started to behave in a sophisticated and fraudulent way to obtain 162,000 pounds from Whitehill Town Council.

'Of that figure, £110,000 was obtained by altering cheques using a fabric pen. But once your cheques were signed you removed the correct name by heating the ink.

'You were finally dismissed in December 2012 and it seems you spent the money on holidays, expensive handbags and nail manicures.

'I have no doubt that you maximised the ease of how you were able to take this money and you did so in a sophisticated fashion.'

New council clerk Chris Young, who worked under Bell, replaced her after she was suspended and today described her as being 'glamorous'.

The 61-year-old said: 'She was well presented and always looked very glamorous.

'She would often come into work with a new handbag and her nails and hair were always immaculate.'