A trusted bank cashier systemat-ically stole £163,000 from the branch where she worked to try to cope with mounting debt problems.Mother-of-three Francis Rosati, 46, had to juggle the family finances and started taking money from the HSBC bank at Hall Quay, Yarmouth, over a two-and-a-half-year period.

A trusted bank cashier systemat-ically stole £163,000 from the branch where she worked to try to cope with mounting debt problems.

Mother-of-three Francis Rosati, 46, had to juggle the family finances and started taking money from the HSBC bank at Hall Quay, Yarmouth, over a two-and-a-half-year period.

But her thefts were discovered following a routine audit and she confessed straight away that she had stolen the cash, Norwich Crown Court heard on Friday.

But even then she dare not tell her family and for more than a month she pretended she was still going to work at the bank.

Rosati, of Stanley Avenue, Gorleston, admitted theft from HSBC where she had worked for the past eight years.

Malcolm Robins, prosecuting, said Rosati took the cash in 51 separate transactions sometimes in amounts of £1,000 and £10,000 at a time.

He said that when the thefts came to light during a routine audit Rosati admitted responsibility straight away and was then dismissed from her job.

When arrested she told police she had got into financial difficulties which went back a number of years.

He said: “She began to juggle the finances and ran up debts.”

He said the stolen money was not spent on a lavish lifestyle and even with the thefts she still had £30,000 debts on her credit cards.

Jailing her for 21 months, Judge Alasdair Darroch told her: “A bank cashier knows they cannot just help themselves to money.”

He said he accepted it had not gone on high living but said: “You cannot resolve your financial problems by taking your employer's money. This is a large sum of money.”

David Wilson, in mitigation, said Rosati was hoping to pay back the money and had signed over her pension to the HSBC bank.

He said that Rosati had trouble confronting her problems and when the matter came to light she spent a month pretending to her family she was still going to work.

Now her family know what happen-ed they have given her support. As well as the support of her family she has been getting counselling and seeking help from her GP.

He said the Citizen's Advice Bureau had also helped her come to terms with her debt problems which still stood at more than £30,000. He added that Rosati had brought shame on herself and was clinically depressed.

“She is someone who will have difficulty coping in a custodial environment. The effect on her family and friends will be devastating.”