A WOMAN has admitted defrauding thousands of pounds from a charity set up in memory of a Cumbrian teenager.

Haley McTaggart, 33, will now be sentenced by a crown court judge after pleading guilty to fraudulently selling raffle tickets to raise cash for Alice’s Escapes.

Carlisle Crown Court was told that no prizes existed and no money was handed over to the charity, which was inspired by Alice Pyne who died in 2013 following a five-year battle with cancer.

As well as the bogus raffle in June 2013, McTaggart, of Cambridge Road, Whitehaven, later that year raised sponsorship for the charity – in the region of £2,000 – for a trip to Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

But she told charity bosses that she was unable to transfer the money due to a banking error and therefore persuaded Alice’s Escapes to pay so she could go.

During a hearing McTaggart’s barrister, Clare Thomas, said: “She has paid back all the money and has raised a significant amount of money for the charity.”

McTaggart also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of theft, having stolen £300 in cash.

Judge Peter Davies told McTaggart that she will be sentenced on March 7 for two counts of fraud and the theft, adding that all options were available.

The charity was established in April 2012 by the late Alice Pyne from Ulverston, to provide short breaks for families of children who are seriously ill.

At the time she founded the charity she was 16 and wanted sick children to be able to enjoy a holiday with their family, where they could be looked after from start to finish.

Following her death her family and friends, along with other organisations in the community, carried on the charity’s good work.

A number of events and sponsored challenges are organised each year to raise money for the good cause.