A GARDEN centre office manager described as a “callous” fraudster who swindled her employer out of £32,000 has been jailed for 15 months.

Zena Price abused her position as the “financial mind” of Abergavenny Garden Centre to fleece the company which has been left “devastated” a result, Cardiff Crown Court heard.

The single mother, 37, of Penylan Road, Pontypool, was put in charge of online banking, payroll and the payment of suppliers at the small business in April 2014.

Prosecutor Nuhu Gobir said Price would syphon off money to her own bank by creating false supplier accounts and invoices and making double wage payments between December 2015 and September 2017.

Her crimes only came to light when she had to go into hospital after suffering back problems.

Mr Gobir said the company’s managing director and owner Ian McDonald was horrified to discover what was going on when he took over its finances while she was off sick.

She admitted after being arrested that she had started to con her boss when she fell into debt, owing £2,000 after racking it up on credit through catalogue shopping.

Price admitted fraud by abuse of position at a previous hearing.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr McDonald revealed how Price had been “a trusted member of staff”.

He said: “I completely relied upon her and trusted her. She worked without much supervision and I feel personally devastated. This has devastated us as a business.

“We were looking to expand but we are not now in a position to take the business forward as quickly as we would have liked.”

Mr McDonald added that her crimes were “particularly upsetting” because his brother, who has now passed away, was ill at the time.

“I think she is extremely callous and heartless,” he said. “I had a good relationship with Price. I was sympathetic and flexible to her as a single mum.

“She completely betrayed my trust in a family business which has been trading for 60 years and where we have a pleasant working environment for our staff members.”

The court also heard how Abergavenny Garden Centre will be unable to reclaim the financial loss on insurance or from the bank.

Owen Williams, mitigating for Price, who had no previous convictions, said she was a “caring mother” to a seven-year-old daughter.

He added she had tendered an early guilty plea and made full admissions to detectives and that she “is truly ashamed for what she has done”.

In sentencing her, Judge Tom Crowther QC said: “This was not a faceless corporation you betrayed, but a small business.

“You began your offending when you were in debt but once that was cleared, you couldn’t resist taking more.

“These offences are so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified.”

The judge told Price she would serve half of her 15-month sentence in prison before being released on licence.