Judge takes action after hearing Northamptonshire fraudster volunteers by phoning elderly at home

A judge put her foot down in court this week after hearing a convicted Northamptonshire fraudster volunteers in her spare time by phoning elderly people at home.

Jayne Harper was jailed for six months on March 10 for defrauding a colleague of £9,000 with a story of how she needed to escape an abusive relationship - then spent the money on a day out in a helicopter.

It is the sixth time the 59-year-old has been convicted of fraud and theft - including in 2003 when she stole over £1million while working as a manager for the former O2 HQ in Brackmills.

And, in 2016, she was narrowly spared jail after she pocketed a couples' £9,000 wedding deposit while working as a manager for Daventry's Fawsley Hall Hotel & Spa.

"That should not be happening," said Her Honour Judge Adrienne Lucking. "She should not be in contact with vulnerable people in this manner."

Harper's defence barrister, Miss Alexandra Kettle-Williams, stated the volunteer work was all out of "goodwill" and had no other intention, but the judge was not swayed.

She said: "I'm impressed that she has completed more than 1,000 hours of volunteer work since this offence.

"But I'm very concerned that she is in contact this way with 80-year-olds, even over the phone.

"She has shown that in a drastic situation she has taken bad decisions in defrauding people.

"I'm of the position that organisation should be contacted and she not be able to do that again."

Although not a formal court order, Judge Lucking recommended that Harper be prohibited from such volunteer work again."

In sentencing, the judge called the £9,000 fraud against Harper's colleague "mean" and remarked that for all her convictions she still had not learned her lesson.