A 28-year-old single mother who betrayed the trust of her employer of over 11 years by stealing from his shop has been given 200 hours of community service.

Ciara Lynch, of Coa Road, Cooltrain, Ballinamallard, admitted stealing cash, chewing gum and a lottery ticket from Niall Dolan between December 1, 2013, and January 21, 2014.

A prosecutor told Fermanagh Court that on Monday, January 27, police were called to Dolan’s Centra at High Street in Enniskillen in response to a report of theft by an employee. The owner of the shop said he suspected Lynch had stolen sums of cash, chewing gum and a lottery ticket on a number of occasions. Lynch, who was employed as a supervisor, was arrested and when interviewed admitted the thefts, saying she was unaware of how much she had stolen.

Defence barrister Heather Philips described it as a “rather unfortunate case” involving a young, single mother. She and her partner had borrowed money to buy a vehicle but when their relationship ended she was left to make the repayments. It was coming up to Christmas and her four-year-old daughter’s birthday.

“She can’t really explain what she did except she was under financial pressure at the time,” said Miss Philips, adding that it was “completely out of character”.

The barrister said the offences were always going to be detected and when Lynch was approached about them she was remorseful.

Miss Philips said Lynch had worked for her employer for eleven-and-a-half years but as a result of these offences was dismissed and is now unemployed.

District Judge Nigel Broderick said these were serious matters, pointing out the sentencing guidelines for a “breach of trust” offence was three months in prison.

However, he said that given the fact that Lynch has a child, a clear criminal record and restitution has been paid, he was satisfied the case could be dealt with by way of a community service order.