A former site manager at the Applegreen fuel station in Ely faked a series of scratch card wins to pocket £12,370.

Emma Grimes was a manager at the station between August 2019 and October 2020.

During that time, the 41-year-old paid herself in £12,370 in fake scratch card winnings.

She was rumbled after a regional manager began investigating financial discrepancies at the station.

Grimes initially denied any wrongdoing, and shifted the blame onto another employee. 

However, evidence uncovered that the pay outs were only made when she was on shift and using her till login details.

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Grimes, of Spalding Common, Spalding, pleaded guilty to theft by employee and was sentenced yesterday (April 23) at Cambridge Crown Court to 17 months in prison, suspended for 21 months.

She was also told to complete 20 days rehabilitation activity requirement, 100 hours unpaid work, and pay £2400 compensation.

DC Lucy Holderness said: “It’s clear that over time Grimes became more brazen about stealing from her employer.

“While scratch cards may be a lottery, altering the books and staging wins for yourself will ultimately land you in front of a judge.”