THIEVING former STV host Hayley Matthews has walked free from jail after winning an appeal against her sentence. She was handed two years and three months in July for stealing £120,000 from mum Janice’s bank account. 2 Hayley Matthews walked free from jail after winning an appeal against her sentence Credit: Dave Johnston 2 It is understood she had been locked up at the Bella Centre custody unit in Dundee Credit: Dave Johnston Sheriff Alison Stirling told Matthews that prison was the only “appropriate” sentence.
But lawyers for the TV news host argued at the Court of Appeal in Edinburgh this week that she should not have been locked up. They said the circumstances of the offence meant an alternative to prison was an option. Appeal judges Lord Doherty and Lord Beckett agreed and the court quashed Matthews’ jail term and handed down an 18-month community payback and supervision order.
Read more Scottish news VILE BEAST Sick Scots hotel manager filmed himself sexually abusing sleeping child 'AVOID THE AREA' Police lock down Scots streets after suspicious package found The judges also ordered her to pay £6,300 compensation to her family and tagged her to stay indoors between 7pm and 7am for ten months. It is understood she had been locked up at the new Bella Centre custody unit in Dundee where “low-risk” offenders live in a community setting. A source said: “It may be Scotland’s most cushy jail but she was still finding life in prison incredibly difficult.
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