A FRAUDSTER has been allowed to walk free from court with a suspended prison sentence.

Emma Grimshaw was judged to have committed a ‘huge breach of trust’ by using another person’s bank card.

The 42-year-old appeared before Warrington Magistrates’ Court after being charged with fraud by false representation.

She also faced a count of possessing cocaine, but magistrates opted to not send her to custody on this occasion.

Matthew Dixon, representing the prosecution, informed the court that the fraud offence was dates April 9 last year.

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In Warrington, Grimshaw committed fraud in that she dishonestly made a false representation by using a bank card that did not belong to her.

This was to make a monetary gain for herself, cause a loss to the true owner of the bank card.

The defendant was also found to be in possession of a quantity of the controlled class A drug cocaine in St Helens on July 17.

In summing up, magistrates stated that the severity of the offending meant that the only appropriate sentence they could pass was a custodial one.

This was due to a determination that the fraud offence demonstrated a ‘huge breach of trust’, and referencing the impact this had on the victim.

However, taking her guilty pleas into consideration and a judgement that she is a ‘real prospect for rehabilitation’, they opted to suspend the sentence.

Grimshaw, of Prescot Road in St Helens, was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison suspended for 12 months.

During this period, he will also have to undertake 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 100 hours of unpaid work.

No order for court costs were made, with magistrates prioritising compensation of £47.07, but they did impose a victim surcharge of £154.

Moreover, the court approved an order for the forfeiture and destruction of the cocaine.