Maria Fernandes, who worked 85 hours a week as a cleaner, is waiting to appeal her sentence after admitting stealing over £5,000 in cash from a home where she worked.

Fernandes, who has no previous convictions, claimed she was taking the money back when she was arrested.

She stole a total of £5,768 from bundles of cash at an address on Old Beaumont Hill.

Her Advocate Sarah Dale urged the Court to agree to bail her pending her appeal, which could take place as early as next Friday, on the basis that she was the sole-carer for her daughter.

However, the application was rejected until the family’s personal circumstances could be investigated and assessed in more depth.