A GWENT Police secretary is facing the sack for forging her estranged husband's signature in a £120,000 fraud over their dream country cottage.

Anna Colcombe faked the signature of husband Geoffrey Jones to get a mortgage pay-out after their marriage turned sour and she was left alone in their Victorian cottage. Colcombe - an administration official supporting senior officers with Gwent Police - spent the money "within days" without telling her estranged husband of the mortgage in his name.

Merthyr Crown Court heard Colcombe, 53, and Mr Jones had been renovating her parent's former country cottage and already borrowed a £76,000 mortgage on the property.

But the couple, who were together for 15 years, split up before finishing the work on Llanfair Cottage in Builth Wells, Powys.

Colcombe pleaded guilty to dishonestly making a false representation at an earlier hearing.

Prosecutor Ieuan Morris said she secretly re-mortgaged the house to "release the equity in the home to pay off her loans" by forging her husband's name.

Mr Morris said the new mortgage gave her an extra £47,000 after paying off the existing mortgage.

He told the court that the former couple had been in a relationship since 2001 and took out a joint mortgage on Llanfair Cottage with Cheltenham and Gloucester for £76,000.

He said that the couple married in 2004, but by 2006 Colcombe had moved out and Mr Jones believed the house was being rented out.

But Mr Jones later found out that the mortgage "had been moved to Santander without his knowledge".

Mr Morris said: "Within a few days after the mortgage payment large cheques were paid out of her account and virtually all the the money had been spent."

This was all done "without the consent of Geoffrey Jones", he added

Mr Jones made a victim personal statement read out by Mr Morris which said it had had "a big impact on him". He also said the "worry about the liability had had a profound effect on him."

Ben Gordon, defending Colcombe, said she had "built up large debts" when renovating the property.

He said Colcombe was "much loved" and thought of in "high regard" by her friends and family.

He said Colcombe worked for Gwent Police but had been suspended since being arrested for the offence and would now lose her job following the conviction.

Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard it would "damage her chances of future employment".

Mr Gordon added that his client had an "excellent attitude towards work" and had found this to be a "harrowing experience."

Judge Richard Twomlow said that this incident had had a "significant effect" on Mr Jones and was "sad and distressing".

He told Colcombe she must "suffer the consequences" of her actions.

Judge Twomlow told her that if she had not pleaded guilty she would be going "straight to prison", Instead, he hamded her a suspended 16 month prison sentence.

She must also complete 200 hours unpaid work.

Judge Twomlow said she had only avoided custody "by a hairs breadth".

After the hearing, Mr Jones praised officers from the Dyfed Powys force for their investigation.

"This has been an extremely worrying and stressful couple of years, financial decisions have had to be put on hold and solicitors costs have rocketed," he said.

A Gwent Police spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that Anna Colcombe will be attending a disciplinary hearing for gross misconduct on September 15 and remains suspended from Gwent Police."