School bursar jailed for thefts

A former bursar at a Norfolk school who stole £85,000 over a seven-year period has been jailed for 18 months.

Norwich Crown Court heard 300 cheques payable for cash ended up in the bank accounts of Julie Jayne Balls, 44, of Friday Bridge, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.

The court was also told of thefts from canteen takings and from Ryston Sixth Form College between 1999 and 2006.

Balls was off sick when another staff member discovered the discrepancies in the school finances, the court heard.

The defence said at the time that Balls was on a high level of medication and had been seriously depressed for 20 years.

Judge Peter Jacobs told her: "You helped yourself to school funds.

"You were writing out cheques to pay your own utility bills. An aggravating feature was that you were trusted.

"You were living beyond your means."