A mum has been jailed after stealing £160,000 from her employers – and using some of the cash to pay for her daughter’s plush wedding.

Rosalind Parden, 56, of Manchester Road West, Salford, stole the money from an air conditioning firm where she worked as a payroll clerk.

She started syphoning off cash within weeks of starting work there in 2002 and carried on for six years.

Parden stole more than £45,000 in one year from Controlled Air Solutions in Heap Bridge, Heywood, Rochdale. Her thefts totalled £162,242 by the time she was caught. She is believed to have used some of the cash to pay towards her daughter’s £36,000 wedding in Miami.

Parden was also a trusted church secretary at Wharton United Reformed Church in Little Hulton, Salford, although she had no access to the church’s finances.

Parden’s role at Controlled Air Solutions, which produces air conditioning equipment, included paying expenses to staff, completing cheques and general maintenance of the payroll system.

She was exposed as a thief in November 2008 when another staff member noticed unauthorised payments.

At Bolton Crown Court she was jailed for three years and two months after pleading guilty to seven counts of theft.

After the case, managing director Andrew Halstead, said Parden’s deception led to job losses and left the firm ‘on the brink’. Mr Halstead said: “She was faking the accounts to make it look like there was money in the bank.

“People lost their jobs and the firm struggled. We didn’t know if we’d be able to carry on. We’re only a small company. She had full trust with the accounts and every few weeks she was dipping her fingers in the pot. When we found out what had been going on we were absolutely gutted.”

He added that the company is trading well now, but that it had been a difficult 12 months.

He also praised the police for their efforts. He said: “The police did a fantastic job bringing her to court. It’s a relief it’s finally come to an end.”

Detective Constable Ryan Gumbridge, of Rochdale CID, said: “Parden had barely started work when she began syphoning funds from her employer.

“She was trusted with the company finances yet betrayed the faith placed in her.

“Parden probably thought she could continue to get away with what she was doing but the sheer amount of money stolen over a number of years meant it would only be a matter of time before justice caught up with her.”