A FORMER Brownies treasurer has been found guilty of fraud relating to almost £5,000 of the group’s funds.

Kate Homewood, of Chatham Avenue, Hayes, consistently failed to pay in cash from subscriptions and donations to the 2nd West Wickham Brownies account between July 2008 and February last year while she was treasurer.

The 36-year-old dinner lady, whose daughter attends the group, would then withdraw the money for her own needs.

During a four-day trial at Southwark Crown Court, jurors heard Homewood admitted to guiding group colleagues that she needed the cash for her “terrible” debt problems.

Karen Robinson, prosecuting, said: “She used approximately £5,000 of Brownie funds as her own.

“She was taking funds from this account and using it to fund her own bank account and her own needs at that time.”

The court heard the money had been raised from events held in aid of the Multiple Sclerosis Society charity, including bag packing at a supermarket, and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

Homewood, who also works part-time for the Crown Prosecution Service in Bromley, told police she would deposit cheques into the Brownies account, withdraw the money and store it in a tin under her bed.

When asked why she did this, Homewood said: "I don't know. I wish somebody could be in my head and tell me why I did it."

Miss Robinson read out a series of bank transactions between accounts belonging to Homewood and the Brownies.

She drew attention to occasions where after money had been withdrawn from the Brownies account, a deposit was made into Homewood's personal account.

When asked why, Homewood burst into tears saying: "I don't know. I've said this all along - I don't know why I did what I did. I wish to God I could tell you, but I can't, sorry.

"I can see now that it was stupid."

Alison Tilbury-Ralston, who took over the Brownie group with Homewood in July 2008, said that she became suspicious of the accounts in February last year and went to the bank to get a statement.

She told the court: "I thought it had been handled totally incorrectly - cash wasn't being paid in and when cheques were going in, after a couple of clearing days it would be withdrawn."

Barbara Baker, division commissioner for guiding groups in Beckenham, who visited Homewood to question the accounts, said: "She admitted to occasionally using Brownies' funds to help her out.

"She said that she had some terrible debt problems and the further she got involved the harder it was to get out."

Homewood was convicted of two counts of fraud relating to the Brownies funds and also declaring incorrect information when applying online for a £240 loan.

The mum-of-two, who says she “likes” the Bible on her Facebook page, told the loan company she had been living at her address for three years and two months.

She had in fact only been there for eight months.

Craig Crosbie, defending Homewood, said his client was “eccentric, panicky, odd” but “not criminal”.

Homewood will be sentenced at the court on June 3.