A hospital manager, who defrauded the NHS of thousands of pounds, has been spared jail, but ordered to complete 150 hours of community service.

Karen Teresa Grant, 38, of Dales Road, Westbury, admitted eight counts of fraud by abuse of position and one of false representation when she appeared before North West Wiltshire Magistrates’ Court.

The court heard Grant, a business manager at the Wiltshire Wheelchair Service, based at Melksham Community Hospital, defrauded her employers of goods worth £3,650 between May 2012 and February this year.

She placed orders for equipment and claimed a series of free gifts, worth around £840, for herself, including a Nintendo Wii games console, two iPods and a netbook computer.

The mother-of-two also admitted dishonestly using a VW Golf, meant as a pool car, for herself and falsely claiming mileage.

Grant was ordered to pay £145 in costs and placed on a community order for 12 months.

She has been dismissed from her post after 17 years in the NHS and will not be able to work for the health trust again.

A probation service representative told the court the frauds occurred while Grant’s husband was serving in Afghanistan and she was left to care for their two young sons.

Magistrate Felicity Dowell told Grant: “You have gone from being a family of entirely good character – a normal family with both parents employed – to a family which will have to deal with the fact that people will know about this and there may be repercussions.

“It was a serious breach of confidence, but I think you have learned a very hard lesson.”

A Great Western Hospital spokesman said: “Fraud is not a victimless crime. It does real harm by diverting much-needed public funds away from patient services.”