ARMED forces charity boss Mark Cann says justice has not been done after a court allowed Chantelle Maye to walk free despite stealing £13,000.

Maye, 36, from Durley, near Marlborough, was given a suspended prison sentence by Winchester Crown Court and ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.

But British Forces Foundation chief executive Mr Cann does not think the punishment reflects the crime.

He said this week: “I feel justice wasn’t really done. She knew what she was going to get in exchange for pleading guilty to some of the charges and not guilty to others. The 180 hours of work equates to earning £55 an hour – to us the working wage is £10 an hour.

"After four years of heartache justice hasn’t been done and it sends a poor message. It doesn’t act as a deterrent."

He was also upset that legal delays meant it was four years before Maye was dealt with in court because of legal delays.

He said: “We did well, by pursuing it we got some of the money back but it is crazy that repayment isn’t part of the sentence. Community service doesn’t do us any good: we suffered a loss.

"A lot of the money was raised from fundraising events and would have been spent on boosting morale on the frontline.”

Maye was sentenced to 13 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to fraud by abuse of position and theft by employee.

Maye, who was the bookkeeper for the Pewsey charity, took more than £13,000 while working there four years ago.

Suspicions about her arose after a routine check in 2012. Staff were also worried after Maye started showing an inability to do her job properly.

Mr Cann said: “We quickly became alarmed. She wasn’t as competent as she came across in her interview. After six months we noticed she was trying to cover her tracks.

"At first we thought it was because she may not fully understand and just thought she wasn’t up for the job but things just didn’t add up and then the whole trail got lost because she was destroying things.”

The impact of Maye’s actions had an adverse effect on the members of staff at the charity, who were left feeling cheated and upset.

He said: “It had a very disruptive impact. Everyone feels a little guilty and it is a distraction from what we are here to do.”

The charity has since praised Wiltshire Police, but said checks could be put in place for people working in the financial sector.

“The police did a very good job, but I feel slightly frustrated that there isn’t a way of checking if someone has done this sort of thing before.

"Doctors have a register if they commit malpractice but we don’t seem to have one for the financial sector."