Fraudster Tanya Tucker who stole £80k ordered to pay back £1

Tanya Tucker was sentenced to 28 months in jail in April

A former councillor who conned the NHS and her union out of £80,000 has been ordered to pay back just £1.

Tanya Tucker forged signatures when claiming expenses for her own purchases while working for NHS commissioning and as a Unison branch secretary.

The 57-year-old former Durham county councillor, from Bishop Auckland, was jailed for 28 months in April.

At a proceeds of crime hearing, Durham Crown Court ordered her to pay £1 within 28 days.

The court heard her "agreed benefit" from her crimes was £94,331.95, when inflation was accounted for, but she could not afford to pay that back.

If she fails to pay the £1, she could face an extra day in prison, and the sum could be revisited in the future depending upon her earnings.

Tucker, who also served on Bishop Auckland Town Council, was convicted of seven fraud charges with the court previously hearing she committed the offences over a four-year period.

Durham Police said she spent the money on a car, restaurant meals, hotel stays, beauty treatments and her honeymoon.