A WOMAN tried to swindle a charity who help pay for weddings for terminally ill brides after she forged the signature of a Royal Gwent Hospital consultant to falsely claim she was dying of cancer.

Carla Louise Evans is facing a possible prison sentence for attempting to con Wish For A Wedding after telling them she had bladder cancer and liver failure.

The defendant admitted the offence in that she intended to gain a wedding costing in the region of £15,000 by claiming she was diagnosed with a terminal illness.

The 29-year-old forged the signature of consultant urologist Adam Carter from Newport’s Royal Gwent Hospital to dupe the charity, the city’s magistrates heard.

Evans pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation committed on Friday, November 9, 2018.

Prosecutor Andrew Gwynne told the court she had tried to scam Wish For A Wedding but she wasn't suffering from either illness.

He added that the consultant urologist knew nothing about the letter she forged with his signature.

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The court was told that the defendant had been asked to pay a nominal amount of only £500 towards the cost of the wedding.

Mr Gwynne said Evans could be facing a prison sentence now of between 26 weeks and three years.

Magistrates declined jurisdiction and the case was adjourned for sentence to take place before a judge at Newport Crown Court on August 6.

A pre-sentence report was ordered for Evans, of Second Avenue, Trecenydd, Caerphilly, who has no previous convictions.

Evans, who was represented by Laura Carter, was granted unconditional bail.

Chairman of the magistrates A Thomas said her offence was “too serious” to be dealt with by the bench and warned her that “all sentencing options are open” at the crown court next month.

Wish For A Wedding is a UK charity based in Manchester “which aims to provide one last wish of a wedding for couples dealing with a terminal illness, through a combination of donations and subsidised wedding services”

Their website says: “The most important thing when planning a wedding is making sure you have plenty of time to save and make arrangements, however, due to the indiscriminate nature of many life limiting illnesses, this luxury is mercilessly removed.

“Due to the insecurity created by receiving such devastating news, you would not want to leave your spouse carrying the debt that a wedding would incur.

“Through building an extensive network of professional volunteers and a database of suppliers and businesses, who are willing to donate or work at cost, we will be able to make wonderful things happen, at short notice and at a reasonable price for the people who deserve it the most.

“The project also collects used wedding dresses from generous brides and donates them to brides within the 'Wish for a Wedding' concept.”