Stephen Hession has been jailed for 28 months after admitting stealing £76,000 from Peterborough charity Family Care, which is in the process of closing down.

Hession, a former finance director at Peterborough Diocesan Family Care, was sentenced yesterday at Peterborough Crown Court, reports the Peterborough Telegraph. He stole a total of £76,819.05 from the charity during a two-year period between June 2008 and June 2010. His appointment was terminated in December 2011.

Family Care, a child care charity launched in 1996, is currently in the process of winding up. Its most recent accounts state that the trustees have decided that it is not feasible for Family Care to continue given the substantial loss of funding over recent years, and the "failure of the previous executive body to identify and secure replacement revenue streams".

Its assets will be transferred to fellow Peterborough charity the Diocese of Peterborough. Family Care’s accounts for the year ending 31 March 2012 reported an overall deficit of £1.2m.

It is expected that Family Care will cease to exist mid-2013.

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