A FRAUDSTER who ripped off a junior football team in Lymm has been jailed after forging a security check to try and get a job in education.

Sheryl Ingham - also known as Cheryl Lee - attempted to change a letter that alerted recruiters at a teaching agency in Leeds to a criminal conviction.

That conviction related to an appearance at Warrington Crown Court in September last year, when Ingham admitted stealing more than £21,969.55 from Lymm Piranhas Junior Football Club.

As voluntary treasurer, the defendant paid 29 cheques from the club into her own bank account.

Ingham, then using the surname Lee, was given a prison sentence of 16 months, suspended for two years, by Judge Nicholas Woodward.

Despite the conviction, Ingham, aged 39, of Suffield Road, Gildersome, tried to gain employment with Celsian Education, in May this year.

Subsequent checks by the Disclosure and Barring Service - formerly known as a CRB check - flagged up Ingham was subject to a suspended sentence.

A certificate confirming the security alert was sent by the DBS to Ingham, who was obliged to present it to the prospective employer.

However, West Yorkshire Police confirmed she tried to doctor the certificate, and continued trying to gain a job working with children.

The defendant eventually handed herself into police on July 4 after the forgery was discovered.

Ms Ingham was jailed for 16 months at Leeds Crown Court on September 2, this year.

She pleaded guilty to the use of a false instrument with intent to be accepted as genuine.