Higham Ferrers fraudster who claimed she had cancer spared from prison after she pays victims back

A former Higham Ferrers pub manager dubbed 'despicable' by a judge has avoided jail after she paid back her elderly fraud victims.

Heidi Warren had claimed she had cancer to to obtain money from a woman and took cash from a disabled man’s bank account.

She had her sentence deferred in August and was given six months by Recorder Stuart Sprawson to pay back the cash to the victims she had befriended.

Yesterday (Friday) Warren appeared back before the judge, this time at Nottingham Crown Court for sentence, after she had been found guilty of committing two counts of fraud by a jury in June.

Sentencing Recorder Sprawson said: “I deferred sentence on an undertaking that you paid back the money, to repay the money and not to reoffend.

“My view is that these (crimes) do cross the custody threshold. In these circumstances I am not going to send you to prison immediately.”

Warren was sentenced to a total of 30 weeks, suspended for 12 months – 20 weeks on the first count and 10 weeks for the other – after she gave the judge her word that she had not reoffended since her trial.

Recorder Sprawson said: “I’m going to suspend it for 12 months to hope that it will galvanise you to not reoffend.”

At the June trial a jury heard that pensioner Ann Wills had handed over £2,600, which she had saved for her daughter’s headstone, and another pub regular had three lots of £200 taken from his bank account. Both victims had been regulars at the Queen’s Head in Higham Ferrers, where Warren worked.

The court heard how, in September 2018, Warren, formerly of The Hedges, Rushden, had asked to ‘borrow’ £2,600 from Miss Wills to pay for private cancer treatment. Warren did not have cancer.

Defending, Paul Webb confirmed that Warren, 45, had paid the money back via a solicitor.

Recorder Sprawson ordered Warren to pay a total compensation of £3,200 to her victims and to pay a victim surcharge, both within 28 days.

Warning Warren, he added: “Make sure you pay it or some sort of action will be taken.”

Asked whether she understood, she said: “I do”.