Carer escapes jail term after £25K OAP theft
salad and purchased tomato ketchup separately.
“Children who attend school should be offered a proper home-cooked style school dinner as a warm, nutritional and energy providing meal.
“This could be a child’s only meal in a day.
“I also think that after reading over 500 comments surrounding the issue that Perth and Kinross Council should revert back to good old-fashioned school meals cooked by dinner ladies and men who take pride in offering healthy, nutritional, home-cooked style meals.”
This comes as Tayside
“But we didn’t think she would have gone to the extent she did to steal it. She was swanning off, getting married and going on holidays.
“Ella’s personality changed from being mentally confident, to ending up a very insecure and fragile person and she kind of gave up on life.”
Peach, from Gannochy Edge in Perth, was ordered to carry out 300 hours unpaid work, and was tagged between 8am and 8pm for the next 12 months, as well as being put on social work supervision for a year.
She was banned from taking on work without social work approval.
Sheriff William Wood said he was Contracts issued a strong statement defending the quality of their school meals in the wake of the photo being circulated online.
Iain Waddell, managing director of Tayside Contracts, described some comments about the burger as “illinformed and at times quite disgraceful”.
He added: “It is apparent from some of the comments that have been made that there are those who are not aware of the Scottish Government’s healthy eating agenda and the requirement of local authority school meal not jailing her because she was a first offender, had repaid the money and had family issues looking after her children.
He said Peach had been “cynical and exploitative” and accepted that her fraud had a significant detrimental impact on her victim’s final days.
Perth Sheriff Court heard how Peach duped bank staff into unwittingly helping her steal more than £25,000 by putting on the voice of a frail elderly lady on the phone to set up internet banking.
Peach splurged over £3000 on an allinclusive honeymoon to Greece and also jetted off to Vietnam, Cyprus, Croatia and Spain.
Miss McIvor died in July last year, shortly after finding out she had been providers to comply with food and nutrition legislation and guidelines.
“Tayside Contracts has always positioned itself in the vanguard of taking forward the Scottish Government’s agenda and is proud of the role it has played and will continue to play in contributing to the health and well-being of Scotland’s young people.
“We are equally proud of the fact that we have also continued to place pupil choice at the centre of our service delivery and menu development programmes whilst many other ripped off by her “friend” Peach.
The 45-year-old care practitioner – who ran a business called There For You – stole £20,000 in a day after befriending the frail and vulnerable pensioner.
Peach then offered to bribe a friend with £10,000 to pen a letter backing her lies about being gifted the cash when police and family started uncovering her scam.
Fiscal depute Eilidh Robertson told the court that Miss McIvor lived in a supported flat before spending her final days in a nursing home. She was unable to walk or use her hands due to a neurological condition.
Peach’s aunt lived in the same complex and when she advertised her services as providers have abandoned this approach and reduced and, in some cases removed, multichoice menus.”
Mr Waddell also claimed he was concerned media coverage of the school meals would have a “demoralising impact” on staff.
He also revealed he had invited education minister John Swinney MSP to join him at any Tayside school to see the quality of school dinners himself.
Mr Swinney said he had written to Tayside Contracts about the issue. He added: “Given the very clear guidance that exists around the quality of school meals, I am keen to understand Tayside Contracts’ interpretation of their responsibilities, and wether they believe that the food they are currently offering lives up to the requirements of this guidance.” a “companion” Miss McIvor hired her regularly for 20 pounds per visit.
The pensioner began to trust Peach enough to let her use her bank card to withdraw cash for her while they were out together in Perth.
Miss McIvor was taken into hospital for a period in 2016 and again in July 2017, when her bank card was found to be missing and family began to investigate.
Peach told police she viewed Miss McIvor as “a mother” and that she had been gifted £20,000 for her wedding. In reality, the pensioner had given her a plate as a gift.
Solicitor David Holmes, defending, said the full amount had been repaid.