A church administrator who admitted to having an "addiction to shopping" has been found guilty of stealing from her employer and sentenced to two years in prison suspended for 18 months.

Claire Clarke worked for St Mary Magdalen Church in Torquay during the time of the pandemic, operating mainly from home.  

The 44-year-old confessed to stealing almost £15,000 from the church during that time.

Clarke managed to link the church's credit card to her Sky TV account going on to use the card to pay for food and petrol then things on Amazon.

In a statement the church's vicar Revd. Samuel Leach said figuring out what was happening was the worst year of his life and that he felt "mortified" when he understood the scale of it.

"I felt betrayed, sick to my stomach that someone in such a position could do this," he said.

In total Clarke managed to take £14,899 from the church funds before she was eventually locked out of the accounts.

She made a full confession and the court heard she was ill at the time. She cried as she was sentenced at a hearing at Exeter Crown Court on Tuesday 15 October.

Clarke was described by others members of the congregation as "the heart and soul of the church". Despite her crime the court heard that she had a "big heart" but had simply made "poor choices".

The judge, Recorder Zoey Saunders, admitted Clarke had genuine remorse for what she had done and recognised that the church community felt forgiveness towards her.

Vicar Samuel Leach came to "St Mags" - as it is known in the area - six years ago and made headlines in 2020 when he overcame vertigo to climb his 165 foot church spire and raise money for a community café.

Insurers have paid £10,000 towards the losses.