A FORMER bank worker has been jailed for stealing £48,000.

Fraudster Samantha Smith, 29, got a young assistant at NatWest to help her apply for two loans in the names of her grandparents.

A court heard Smith, of St Johns’ Road, Clacton, had spent all the money and was bankrupt.

She has been jailed for 15 months.

Gran Margaret Cross, 80, of Crown Road, Clacton, said the ordeal had been devastating for her and husband Anthony, 83.

She said: “It is bad enough if it had been a stranger up the street, let alone when it is one of your own.

“When the policeman knocked on our door to tell us, I thought he had got it wrong.

“I couldn’t believe it. I was knocked out.”

Mrs Cross said Smith had become a stranger to the couple in recent years. She said: “We never saw her much. She wasn’t one to visit, but she was always nice to us and asked how her grandad was.

“We’re in the dark here. I didn’t even know she was pregnant again.

“I have so many questions. Why did she do it? Why did she choose us?

“Obviously, we don’t want to be bad friends with her. We want to put it behind us.”

Chelmsford Crown Court heard Smith had serious financial problems and took out loans in the names of her grandparents.

Peter Gair, prosecuting, said Smith enlisted the help of a junior bank worker, who told a manager about the fraud.

Smith was arrested when matters came to light.

Mr Gair said no money could be seized because all that was left was a trail of debts.

Smith admitted stealing £48,000 from the NatWest bank in Clacton on October 30, 2009.

She also admitted fraud by a breach of trust.

Smith denied another eight charges of fraud by false representation and her pleas were accepted.

Richard Conley, mitigating, told the court Smith took the money because she was in severe financial difficulty.

He urged the judge not to jail Smith because she had a young son and was 12 weeks’ pregnant.

He said: “If you imprison her, it would result in that child being born within a custodial environment, probably undesirable.”

Mr Conley said her family life would be put in chaos because it relied entirely on her husband.

Smith had made a suicide attempt, which coincided with the first court hearing, and suffered a miscarriage this May, likely due to stress and anxiety, the court heard.

Mr Jones said: “I am sorry, but this sort of inside job, a breach of trust, theft by an experienced bank employee, equals immediate custody. But I have made it as short as I can.”

Smith was told she would serve up to half of the sentence and be out next April or May, and could even be released earlier.