A 43-YEAR-OLD grandmother found it “too tempting” to swindle more than £25,000 from an Oxfordshire doctors’ surgery.

Paula Roffey was working at Langford Medical Practice in Bicester when she stole cash and used a company credit card for her own shopping.

Roffey was jailed for a year at Oxford Crown Court yesterday after earlier admitting theft of £11,414.27 in cash and defrauding £14,167.96 from the card.

She also admitted false accounting by tampering with a credit card statement.

Cathy Olliver, prosecuting, told the court the offences occurred between December 2008 and February this year when Roffey was practice manager at the Nightingale Place surgery.

She said the offending denied colleagues of their Christmas bonuses and pay rises, and caused fear of redundancies.

Terence Woods, defending, said Roffey began to misuse the credit card, which was in her own name, after splitting from her husband.

He said his client had three children living with her, the middle of whom had recently given birth when the offending began.

In police interview Roffey, of Tennyson Close, Towcester, Northants, told officers: “I’ve got debts that are out of control, I was trying to kid myself I was leading a normal life with a good job.”

Mr Woods said Roffey, who has debts of £29,000, was “extremely remorseful”.

A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing will be held in the new year.