A financial assistant who plundered £113,000 from disabled people’s charity Bradnet to fund a lavish lifestyle has been jailed for two and a half years.

In eight months Bhupinder Kaur stole 60 per cent of the charity’s available funds for the year, Bradford Crown Court was told.

Kaur, 25, sat in the dock with her head bowed as prosecutor John Bull said she was driving a £30,000 BMW 335i with a personalised number plate when she was arrested on February 18 this year.

She also bought a Renault Clio Sport, clothes and other luxury items.

She pleaded guilty to stealing £113,043 from Bradnet between May 25 last year and January 20.

The charity, based in Laisterdyke, Bradford, champions the rights, welfare and causes of people with disabilities.

Yesterday Mr Bull said Kaur began working for the registered charity on January 19, 2010. Her full-time post gave her access to the accounts, bank details and pin numbers.

Kaur, of West Park Drive West, Roundhay, Leeds, made 15 illegal transfers of money from the charity into her Lloyds TSB and Halifax bank accounts.

The first, of £6,000, was in May last year. It was followed by sums of up to £14,000 up until January this year.

She was suspended for inquiries into her time-keeping, and the theft was discovered when a temporary financial assistant was appointed.

Mr Bull said the missing cash funded “a lavish lifestyle”. “There is no evidence of debt and there is expenditure on luxury and high-value items,” Mr Bull said.

The police froze Kaur’s bank account, containing £17,000, and seized both cars.

Her barrister, Matthew Harding, said Kaur had lost her good name and would almost inevitably lose her liberty “in pursuit of a car, clothes and other trinkets”.

“It seems the desire to acquire such items led her into debt,” Mr Harding said.

The court heard Kaur realised she had been stupid and that her remorse was heartfelt. She was pregnant and faced the prospect of giving birth in prison.

The judge, Recorder Bernard Gateshill, told Kaur she had abused a position of great trust and the theft had a “significant effect” on Bradnet. “It was 60 per cent of the charity’s available funds for that year,” he said.

After the case, a Bradnet spokesman said: “The charity is pleased to see that justice has been done. Bradnet has been working to support the lives of disabled people in Bradford for over ten years, and is reliant on charitable donations and public funds to carry out our vital work.

“Although none of the money stolen by Bhupinder Kaur was from public funds, her selfish actions demonstrated a complete disregard for the charity’s finances, and ultimately those disabled people who are most in need of our support.”