Over the course of 11 years, between 2008 and 2019, Deborah Thorlby-Hall, 54, from Worksop in Nottingham, stole £1.4m from Derbyshire based SDE Limited.

SDE, specialists in commercial and industrial designs fit-outs and refurbishments, had revenues of £27.9m in FY24, up from £21.3m the year prior.

Thorlby-Hall was employed initially as a bookkeeper at SDE in 2008, before being promoted to finance director in 2014. She was AAT Level 1 Qualified, the entry level without exam requirements, but she did not have any other formal qualifications in accountancy. This did not stop her rise to the senior finance role at the company.