LOAN firm agent Tracey Kidd has been sent to prison for a month by Kidderminster magistrates for stealing from her employer.

She had tried to cover up her dishonesty by reporting that money had been stolen from her car.

Kidd, 28, of Mill Lane, Blakedown, admitted stealing £2,576 from Provident Personal Credit between 1998 and last year.

She had worked on a self-employed basis, with authority to make loans, and had been provided with a cash float, said prosecutor Peter Parson.

After she began stealing she used false figures to cover the embezzlement. She told the firm her car had been broken into and £1,300 stolen but when police questioned her she admitted her dishonesty, said Mr Parson.

Kidd had been desperate for money, her solicitor, Ruth Edwards, told the magistrates. Her partner had left her with debts and without maintenance to support their six-year old son. She had already repaid £900 and had intended to reimburse the firm in full, said Mrs Edwards.