A former company secretary who was jailed for fiddling more than £17,000 from a Black Country firm has been ordered to pay back £5,000 or face further time behind bars.

Sharon Shardlow, aged 44, was sentenced to four months jail in July after admitting 13 charges of dishonesty and fraud while working at Walsall-based handrail manufacturer Hollaender Rainer.

Having served half of the prison term, she was back at Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday for a Proceeds of Crime hearing to retrieve some of the cash stolen.

The court previously heard Shardlow, who earned £22,000 a year, paid herself an inflated monthly wage to supplement her lavish lifestyle and cover mounting debts.

She was rumbled by bosses after she began wearing smart clothes and driving a new car.

At the same time an extension was being built on her home and it was rumoured there were flat screen televisions all over the house. She ended up £70,000 in debt.

Shardlow, of Coronation Road, Walsall Wood, began working at the firm on the Leamore Industrial Estate in January 2002.

Mr John Evans, prosecuting, told the court yesterday that he and the defence had agreed that £5,000 should be repaid.

“What has been under investigation is her reliable assets, of which there are some,” said Mr Evans. “We have come to the agreement that it is £5,000, and I ask for an order for confiscation in that sum.”

Judge Hilary Watson said: “I know about her and her husband’s financial situation, and finding £5,000 is going to be very difficult, but it has to be paid. It seems to me that there should be a period of imprisonment of up to three months if it is not paid.”

She has until March 28 next year to pay up.