A “trusted” secretary from Llandeilo who stole almost £1 million from her employer has been jailed for 45 months.

Susan Jones, of Lan Farm, Broad Oak, stole £955,368 from CK Supermarkets’ accounts where she had worked for over 20 years to help out her family’s farm after it ran into financial difficulties.

The 57-year-old was jailed after pleading guilty to fraud at Swansea Crown Court on Friday.

Jones worked as the company secretary for the chain, which has branches in Swansea and across south west Wales, and was also a personal assistant to boss Chris Kiley.

The court heard how the mother-of-four handled all the company’s accounts and how she began transferring the cash into her own bank account in 2009 over a four-year period.

The theft was eventually spotted by an audit by an accountant.

When confronted, Jones admitted what she had been doing - making scores of transfers of money directly from firm’s funds to companies who were supplying the farm.

The court heard Mr Kiley waited more than 12 months before reporting matters to the police in the hope arrangements could be made to return the money.

But when no re-payments were made, the authorities were contacted and Jones was arrested was facing.

Judge Peter Heywood described what Jones did as a “catalogue of dishonesty” carried on over a significant period of crime, and as a serious breach of the trust CK’s had placed in her.

He said he was satisfied the Joneses hadn’t been “living the high-life” on the stolen money, but he said it was “systematic theft”, and he sentenced her to 45 months in prison.