Nicola Nightingale, 48, and Simon Nightingale, 50, from Kent, fleeced Stephen Terry over a two-year period while working at his well-known restaurant The Hardwick, in Abergavenny, Wales.

During the hearing, the court heard that Mrs Nightingale had been employed as Mr Terry's office administrator between February 2018 and March 2020 and that she had used the money to fund a spending addiction.

Over a two-year period, she transferred almost £47,000 into her husband's bank account, made payments of more than £50,000 into her account, increased her wages by £6,000 and made additional payments to herself disguised as paid wages of £47,000.

The total amount stolen from the restaurant was £150,234.63 and during a trial in February it was revealed that some of the money was spent on foreign holidays.

Following sentencing, Mr Terry said: "I'm very disappointed if I'm honest. I'm absolutely shocked she didn't go to prison.

"What message does this send out about white collar crime?

"It says white collar crime pays. Just make sure you've got kids."

He added: "We heard of what the impact of custody might have been on their children but what about our family?

"My wife's mother was diagnosed with cancer and passed away during this.

"Everything just seems to be in their favour.

"We could have lost our business and our house and we've only survived by the skin of our teeth.

"I was adamant she was going to prison today. I am absolutely gobsmacked."

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'Significant debt'

Prosecuting, Tom Roberts said Mrs Nightingale had run the business into "significant debt".

"She'd given the impression that the business was running smoothly but she had in fact run it into significant debt by extracting money from it for herself," he said.

A victim impact statement written in June 2020 was read to the court in which Mr Terry said he may not have been aware of the fraud "had it not been for the unprecedented pandemic".

"Had it not been for the unprecedented pandemic, that is COVID-19, I'm not certain that I would have been aware of the fraud. And I believe that the business would not have survived this financial loss."

'Haunted'

Susan Ferrier, Mrs Nightingale's defence lawyer, said her client had an "extreme problem with alcoholism and mental health" and that those problems had contributed to an addiction to buying things as a means of coping.

Ms Ferrier added that Mrs Nightingale "bitterly regretted" the amount she had stolen and is "haunted" by the impact of her actions.

Martin Taylor led Mr Nightingale's defence who argued the defendant accepted his "negligence" and had "massive regret" for allowing the situation to happen.

Handing down the suspended sentences, Record Judge Barry Clarke said that sending the defendants to prison would have had a "lasting, negative impact on them [their children] and upon their development".