I knew I couldn't let her get away with how she'd treated us

PUB LANDLADY FLEECED BY BEST PAL AFTER FALLING ILL

- JAMES HOLT

WHEN Cara Campbell became seriously ill and needed time off from running her dad’s pub to recover from major surgery, she knew she needed someone she could rely on.

Turning to her best friend, she trusted her ‘implicitly’ to help keep the business afloat.

Managing staff and helping to run the busy Queens Arms in Audenshaw, Tameside, Cara put her faith in close friend Carly Stelfox, who had worked at the family-run venue for a number of years after being hired as a teenager.

But Carly’s sneaky offending came to light when it was discovered she had been using the pub’s card machine to refund thousands of pounds to bank cards in her name.

After being promoted to a managerial role by landlady Cara, who was general manager of the Guide Lane pub owned by her dad, it was revealed Carly had swindled nearly £6,000.

Cara, 49, who required major surgery in October 2022, told the M.E.N.: “I didn’t want to think it was Carly... it couldn’t have been her. My dad rang and he said ‘I’ve had a disturbing phone call from the company who deals with card transactions and PDQ machines. He said ‘somebody has been doing refunds’.