Luton shuttle bus driver avoids jail for £38k theft

Louise Egan has avoided jail for stealing £38,000 in customers' fares after the court heard she has remortgaged her home to pay the money back

A shuttle bus driver who stole £38,000 in fares was spared a custodial sentence after a judge learned she had remortgaged her home to repay the debt.

Louise Egan drove the service between Luton Airport's terminal and Luton Airport Parkway rail station.

Earlier this month, Egan was warned she may face jail when she was found guilty of two counts of theft.

But she was eventually handed a 15-month term, suspended for two years, at Luton Crown Court.

Sentencing, Recorder Gelega King did not impose an immediate custodial term after hearing Egan was in the process of paying Govia Thameslink back.

He said the offences were "a serious breach of trust, in my view, committed over a sustained period of time".

But, the judge added, he had changed his mind on his earlier opinion that a suspended sentence would be inappropriate.

Egan, of Hallwick Road, Luton, was employed by a bus company sub-contracted by Govia Thameslink.

The court heard she had siphoned the cash from her daily takings and used it to fund £15,000 of foreign dental treatment.

Prosecutor Daniel Wright said the theft was uncovered in June 2016 amid a review of shuttle bus takings by Govia Thameslink analyst Nikki Hill.

Ms Hill found there were "considerable shortfalls" in takings compared with what Ms Egan had collected in fares.

A review by a Govia Thameslink analyst found "considerable shortfalls" in what Ms Egan had collected in fares and what the company received

The court heard the investigation looked at takings between April 2016 and July 2017 and that total "losses" amounted to £38,258.

Egan will also have to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work and be subject to a curfew between the hours of 20:00 and 07:00 for the next four months.