Teacher faces being kicked out of education after scamming South Tyneside supermarket

A shamed deputy headteacher faces being kicked out of education after scamming retailer Asda’s South Tyneside store out of £1,700 pounds in a 1p self-service barcode con.

Kirstie Reynolds, 34, targeted the firm’s Boldon Colliery outlet – and another at Gateshead’s MetroCentre - over five weeks in February and March.

She ran items through the tills by inputting the numbers from a discount code she had remembered when buying a damaged chicken sometime before.

Reynolds, of Wardle Gardens, Felling, Gateshead, made four trips to the Boldon branch, borough magistrates heard.

And her repeat visits to the MetroCentre shop saw her stick another £1,300 of groceries through the do-it-yourself till, with many being charged at just a penny.

Her offending coincided with her stopping her medication for depression without her doctor’s supervision and she was stressed at work - creating an element of self-destruction, it was said.

Until that point, university educated Reynolds had enjoyed a meteoric professional rise and was a respected staff member at a school not identified in court.

Read South Tyneside's news on the go with our free email newsletters - bringing the headlines to your inbox. Catch up on the day's news and sport and enjoy even more from your Gazette. Visit our website here to find out more and sign up.

Her defence solicitor said education bosses and national teaching regulators must now decide if her career can continue.

Prosecutor Lesley Burgess said: “CCTV evidence, together with receipts, found that Ms Reynolds, when scanning items through self-service checkouts, it’s very clear that at some point she put her hand over the scanner, moving items through and typing in the code.

“It shows that that code records a price of 1p, it comes up as rotisserie. Some things are correctly scanned but there’s a lot of 1p items which have the description of rotisserie.

“CCTV evidence was compared which showed that every other day she was going to a store.

“Ms Reynolds was often wearing a hoodie which was quite distinguishing with ‘Academy of Schools’ on and where she worked.”

Reyonlds, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation, between February 25 and March 30.

Paul Hanratty, defending, said: “She came about it by chance. She went to a store one day and bought a cooked chicken which was greasy.

“There was a code on it for a penny. She appears to have employed that code.

“It’s unfathomable that a lady with the job Ms Reynolds holds should find herself in this situation. It’s unfathomable to understand how she behaved in this way.

“It’s clear that she’s someone who had a very good education. She went to university, qualified as a teacher and has risen to the level of deputy headteacher.

“There’s a reference from the headmistress who talks about the fact Ms Reynolds went above and beyond to help children, perhaps especially those who are disadvantaged.

“By doing what she has done, she’s effectively thrown away her career. Her career is in shreds today. The school will now have to think about if it is appropriate that she can continue.

“Even if it does decide she can keep her job, it may be taken out of their hands because there is the teaching regulatory agency.

“She talks about it being in a blur. There were stresses upon her in her job, it had all become too much. She couldn’t cope but didn’t want to let down her headmistress.

“There’s almost an element of self-destruction here, to do something that will bring it to a head.

“There is also a diagnosis of depression for a number of years, and she had come off her medication in December, without medical supervision.”

Magistrates ordered Reynolds to pay Asda £3,000 compensation and sentenced her to a 12-month community order, with 15 rehabilitation days.

She was fined £400, with a £160 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.