A Lidl worker thrown into debt after her sister took out loans in her name resorted to stealing £800 from the till in a desperate bid to pay them back, a court heard.
Shannon Mansbridge has been ordered to pay back the full amount, after she pocketed £829.87 over a two-month period last year.
The 25-year-old from Manchester was left in a desperate position, magistrates heard, after finding her sister had taken out the loans under her name leaving her with a mountain of debt.
Manchester magistrates court heard Mansbridge had voided receipts when given correct change in order to cover her tracks while swiping cash from the tills at the budget supermarket.
Mansbridge, of Monsall, Manchester, started the cashier job in March last year, Manchester Evening News reports.
Wajid Manzoor, for Mansbridge, told the court she had inadvertently accrued two debts - one of around £800 and the other of £1,500 - due to her sibling's fraudulent loans.
Mansbridge, who now has a new job, has been working full time to manage and pay back the debts along with her mum's help, the court heard.
Mr Manzoor added that his client now understood that stealing "was not the right way to pay off debt and that she told her former employer that she was willing to pay the money back".
Mansbridge who pleaded guilty was given a 12-month community order by magistrates which includes 40 hours unpaid work.
She has also been ordered to pay back £829.87.
