Practitioner guilty of stealing from practice

A dispensing optician employed at the Clacton-on-Sea branch of Specsavers has been spared jail after being found guilty of stealing more than £200 over a two-month period.

Shelley Kenton-Irvine, 33, of Holland Road, Clacton, admitted four offences and was given a 12-week jail sentence, suspended for one year, at Chelmsford Crown Court.

The practitioner was ordered to carry out 200 hours of voluntary work, pay £207.10 in compensation and £500 costs by Judge Peter Fenn.

In passing his sentence, the judge pointed out the case would have to be considered by the General Optical Council, where Kenton-Irvine could be struck off or have conditions imposed on her right to practise.