Organist admits taking £150,000

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A former organist has pleaded guilty to stealing nearly £150,000 from her church and the bank where she worked.

Muriel Stewart, 55, of Carrowdoon Road, Dunloy, wept as a judge warned her she could be jailed for the thefts.

Stewart, a Women's Association member at Dunloy Presbyterian Church, stole £96,685 from its treasurer.

She also took £29,460 from clients of the First Trust Bank in Ballymoney where she was employed and £19,440 from another person.

The thefts were carried out between January 1998 and Christmas 2003.

Defence barrister Alan Kane told Antrim Crown Court that the sale of land near her home, which would pay off the money owed, was at an advanced stage.

Sentencing was adjourned until a consultant psychiatrist's report was completed.

Although the judge, Piers Grant, allowed Stewart to be released on continuing bail of £500, he told her that this should not be interpreted as a signal that she would definitely be spared jail.

He said: "You have pleaded guilty to three very serious charges.

"A custodial sentence must be a consideration."