A NURSE with a good work record lost her job at Basingstoke hospital after it was discovered she had been fiddling timesheets to speed up payments she was due.

Ann Gee, of Delibes Road, Basingstoke, pleaded guilty to 12 charges of false accounting at Winchester Crown Court.

The offences were committed between May 4, 2003, and July 14, 2005, and Gee asked for a further 15 offences to be taken into consideration.

James Shepherd, prosecuting, told the court that Gee, 51, had worked at the hospital from 1993 until she was dismissed following the allegations.

He explained that staff are either paid monthly, as salaried nurses, or weekly, as "bank" nurses.

He said Gee had used bank timesheets in order to receive salaried pay early.

Mr Shepherd said: "Mrs Gee was using the system to dishonestly accelerate payments that were due to her."

He explained she had received early payments of £5,265.93, including National Insurance contributions, but admitted the trust lost only a nominal figure of interest because the money was due at the end of the month.

Richard Martin, defending, said Gee had already suffered as she had lost her job.

He added: "It is always sad when somebody regarded as highly trustworthy by their co-workers falls from grace.

"It is clear that she has learned that any manipulation of books is not tolerated and she will never trouble the courts again."

Judge Michael Brodrick gave Gee a 12-month conditional discharge. He also ordered her to pay £250 costs.

He told her: "You abused the system to obtain money that you were due more quickly.

"I think the major punishment is that you have lost your job, which you were very good at, and may find future employment more difficult."

Gee refused to comment after the case.

Yvonne Coventry, the director of human resources at Basingstoke hospital, said: "The trust takes any NHS fraud extremely seriously and involved the NHS Crime Fraud Service as soon as it had concerns that claims for salary payments were incorrect."