A Spar employee stole from the convenience shop’s safe after a dispute over “nasty” pub-goers.
Nicola Sharpe, of Bradley Road in Patchway, took £70 in cash after a row with her manager at the Filton Avenue store
The 48-year-old mum had asked the manager for a shift change to avoid contact with evening drinkers at nearby pub The Bulldog, but her request was refused and she decided to steal the money.
Sharpe stole the £70 across four dates in May last year, each time sneaking into the manager’s office.
She admitted the offence at Bristol Magistrates’ Court yesterday (March 10) and was ordered to pay £180.
Prosecutor Jeremy Oliver said: “The manager had noticed money missing and put various provisions in place to see who was doing it.
“They viewed CCTV footage from inside the manager’s office and noted Miss Sharpe stealing cash from the safe.
“She was spoken to by the manager and admitted she had stolen the money.”
Sharpe said she had access to the key for the safe and snuck in on evenings when not many staff were working.
'I was not getting a supervisor's pay'
Representing herself, she said: “I know it was wrong but I was under so much pressure and it was dangerous in the evenings because of all those nasty people come from the pub.
“I always worried going to the bus stop because I thought I would get hurt. I asked them to make my shift earlier but they wouldn’t.
“Also I was only really getting paid National Living Wage. I was not getting a supervisor’s pay even though I was doing supervising.”
Sharpe is on Universal Credit and looking for work after being fired by Spar.
Mr Oliver said: “Her children have left home and she lives with her partner who cannot work due to poor mental health.
“She says she enjoyed working at the Spar, but in the last month it had been getting her down.”
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Presiding Justice Dr Giles Brown ordered the defendant to pay a £30 victim surcharge, £70 in compensation, £40 fine and £40 in prosecution costs, at a rate of £20 a month.
He said: “While there was a guilty plea at the first opportunity, this clearly is a breach of trust, which makes it more serious.”
