A HOSPITAL worker who defrauded the NHS of more than £2,500 has been given a conditional discharge.

Mary Derby, 46, claimed sick pay from a hospital trust while working a second job.

Derby, of Morris Green Lane, Bolton, worked as a healthcare assistant at Prestwich Hospital, near Bury and as a community support worker for Lancashire county council.

She pleaded guilty to eight counts of false accounting at an earlier hearing and was conditionally discharged for 12 months by magistrates in Bolton.

The court was told that between October 2005 and February 2006, Derby claimed £2,515 statutory sick pay from the hospital trust.

Mark Brookes, prosecuting, said: "She got sick notes from her doctor saying that she was not fit to work. They were only provided to the trust. The defendant continued to work for Lancashire council."

The court heard she has since resigned. She was told to pay £250 costs.