Overview
- Siobhan Ferguson pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court to fraud by false accounting covering January 1 to November 7, 2020.
- Recorder Ben Lawrence imposed a 15‑month term suspended for 18 months and ordered 150 hours of unpaid work, with no compensation order.
- CCTV showed her concealing scratchcards and lottery tickets under the till, and officers later found about £7,000 in used cards plus roughly 300 tickets at her home.
- The judge said the loss was at least £12,000 and described a sustained abuse of trust in a small community business.
- The shop owner’s statement detailed near closure and lasting loss of trust, while the defence cited no prior convictions, abstinence from gambling, and the impact on her five children.