A BANK employee cheated her way to £62,000 by surreptitiously increasing her own overdrafts, York Crown Court heard.

Caroline Wakefield, 34, was maintaining an expensive house and living above her £17,500 salary.

But after Barclay Bank's internal checks revealed her fraud at its York city centre branch, she now has three months to ensure her former employer is repaid, or go to jail.

Wakefield, of Stutton Road, Tadcaster, pleaded guilty to eight charges of false accounting between January and June 2002.

The offences have cost her an 18-year career with the bank.

Judge Jim Spencer QC told her: "I am going to defer sentence for three months. By that time, I shall expect there to be some progress in reducing this unauthorised loan. If there has been, it may be possible for me to take a completely different view and a prison sentence may be avoided."

Rebecca Young, prosecuting, said that over two-and-a-half years, Wakefield repeatedly used her employee status without authorisation to access the bank's computers and increase the overdraft on her personal account and a joint account she shared with her husband.

She also took steps to prevent the bank's computer fraud alarms being triggered.

But bank management became worried at the size of her debt to the bank and started investigating.

Wakefield later told police she got into financial trouble over a "rather expensive property which required a lot of repairs" and lived above her £17,500 salary, said Miss Young.

Her husband had no knowledge of what she had done.

Wakefield's barrister, Anthony Kelbrick, said late last year she had started repaying the £62,000 at £350 a month. The debt was now under £58,000 and she could use the equity in the £220,000 marital home. She had a £90,000 joint mortgage on it with her husband, who would have to agree to use the equity.

She had come to court with her bags packed expecting to go to prison.

Updated: 10:41 Saturday, July 12, 2003