A WOMAN who has admitted stealing nearly £44,000 from a Suffolk doctor's surgery has been warned that she faces a jail sentence.

A WOMAN who has admitted stealing nearly £44,000 from a Suffolk doctor's surgery has been warned that she faces a jail sentence.

Sharon Farmer, 42, who was employed in an administrative role at the Siam Surgery in Sudbury, was due to stand trial at Ipswich Crown Court yesterday accused of theft.

However before the case started, her barrister John Hulme asked Judge David Goodin for a direction as to the likely sentence Farmer could expect if she pleaded guilty to the theft charge.

Judge Goodin told Farmer that if she pleaded guilty the maximum prison sentence he would pass would be 21 months.

After further discussions with her barrister Farmer, of Milton Road, Hanwell, London, pleaded guilty to stealing a credit balance of £43,995 due to the partners of the Siam Surgery.

Judge Goodin adjourned the case to the beginning of August for the preparation of psychiatric and pre-sentence reports.

The judge told Farmer that the offence would be dealt with by a prison sentence: “The only question is how long.”