Worker admits stealing £227,000 from small clothing firm near Harborough

Deborah Gray (47), from Tymecrosse Gardens in the town, admitted the theft charge when she appeared at Leicester Crown Court today (Monday).

She stole the money from GJ Waller & Co, a small importer of underwear, based in Church Langton, near Market Harborough, the court heard.

Gray’s case was adjourned for reports until July 28, and she was granted bail.

But Recorder Justin Wigoder warned Gray that when her case was finally dealt with in July, a lengthy custodial sentence was “almost inevitable”.

Gray pleaded guilty to theft from GJ Waller & Co over a period between January 2007 and June 2015.

She also pleaded guilty to a charge of false accounting between January 2007 and June 2015.

She pleaded not guilty to a charge of trying to pervert the course of justice.

James Bide-Thomas, defending Gray, said his client’s underlying health problems were a factor in the case.

The Recorder granted permission for a solicitor’s clerk to sit with Gray in the dock as she pleaded to the charges against her.