A ‘greedy’ administrator stole more than £65,000 from a charity-run pre-school in Exmouth and spent the money on cosmetics and items for her home.

Claire Precious stole so much money from the Bassetts Farm Pre-School that it came within a month of going bust, which would have left 50 children without education and six staff without jobs.

It was only saved because her parents paid back £13,000 of the money she had stolen. She now plans to sell or remortgage her home to repay the rest.

Precious was given a suspended jail sentence at Exeter Crown Court where Judge James Adkin described her as 'greedy' and told her she had left the school facing ‘complete disaster.

The thefts occurred over five years during which she was administrator at the school in sole charge of its finances, and set up Amazon and Argos accounts which she used to buy luxuries which were delivered to her home.

The mother-of three also set up an account with Asda which she used to do her family shopping. She increased her own pay by almost £10,000 without permission and altered records on the Amazon account to hide 220 fraudulent purchases.

Staff became suspicious of what she was doing and called the police, Crimestoppers and the Charity Commission. When the pre-school’s chairman went to her home he spotted items that she had bought on the school’s accounts and a new sofa she had bought using its funds.

Precious, aged 49, of Madagascar Close, Exmouth, admitted fraud by abuse of position and was jailed for two years, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 220 hours unpaid community work and 40 days of rehabilitation.

The judge also set a timetable under the Proceeds of Crime Act which will lead to seizure of her assets if she does not repay the money.

He said: “It is easy to answer the question of why she did this. She was greedy. It had a serious detrimental effect on the school. It was one month away from running out of money, which would have been a complete disaster for staff and parents.”

Miss Zoe Kuyken, prosecuting, said Precious took over as administrator at the school, which caters for 50 children aged two to five, in September 2018 and the frauds started soon afterwards.

She was arrested in January 2023 and was found to have made 220 purchases for herself on the school’s Amazon account which totalled £5,660 including blinds and a water dispenser for her home, Calvin Klein perfume and moisturiser.

She had also made numerous cash withdrawals of up to £500 on a school bank card despite it having ceased to use cash at all after the 2020 Covid lockdown. The total value of her fraud, which did not include her increased salary, was £65,689.69.

Mr Daniel Moore, volunteer chairman of the charity that runs the preschool, wrote a business impact statement saying that it had almost closed as a result of the thefts and only been saved by a repayment from Precious’s parents and by raiding an emergency fund.

He said: “We are a charity, it is utterly abhorrent and shameful that she left us four weeks away from closure. Most of what she bought were luxuries or non-essential items.”

Miss Rachel Smith, defending, said Precious has been diagnosed with a mental illness since her arrest for which she is now receiving treatment. Character references describe her as kind and considerate.

She is determined to repay the money and would already have done so but for a glitch in obtaining a second mortgage. She is a mother of three with significant caring responsibilities.