Robyn Seddon, of Andrew Road, Valentine, faced Maitland Local Court on Friday charged with 14 counts of making and using a false document to obtain financial advantage.

As her husband watched on, the court heard how the former NSW Fire Brigade clerical officer forged invoices.

A relieving staff member discovered emails addressed to Seddon from Cessnock City Council and Port Stephens Council while Seddon was on maternity leave in February 2011.

The invoices, for maintenance and inspections, were deposited into a National Australia Bank account established under the name Lower Hunter Support Brigade and Seddon was the signatory.

Over 13 months amounts from $4000 to $16,500 were deposited into the account, which was linked to Seddon’s Westpac bank account and American Express credit card.

Magistrate Brian Van Zuylen read out several positive character references from former colleagues that said the 33-year-old operated in a “professional and ethical manner when dealing with public money” and that the charges were “out of character” and “came as a shock”.

“To my astonishment there are people prepared to provide

references for a work colleague who’s done such a terrible crime,” Mr Van Zuylen said.

“The systematic nature of the fraud, the planning and the fact it was found out only by accident suggests it could have gone on further.”

He sentenced her to 14 months imprisonment, but adjourned the matter until next month to investigate the possibility of home detention.

Seddon’s solicitor Mark Hanlon said his client had borrowed $71,000 from her father to repay the $89,343 outstanding.

Mr Hanlon said financial constraints and a diagnosis of depression led Seddon to falsify the documents.