A 23-year-old former bank employee was given a conditional discharge after she admitted stealing $900 from a customer's account.

Jayne Dill, of Oriel Lane, Sandys, pleaded guilty in November to theft and falsifying account documents last January.

The theft was discovered on January 13, when a customer came into the bank to complain about transactions that he did not authorise.

Dill, who worked at HSBC's Church Street branch, admitted the theft to investigating officers in August, saying she transferred money from the customer's account and into an account shared by her and her mother.

Elizabeth Christopher, representing Dill, said her client had paid back the money, and had already been punished by the stress of the situation and being unemployed.

"She knows it was inappropriate behaviour, and she is very remorseful," she said. "She is very aware of the damage she has done to herself."

Ms Christopher said the stress of the investigation caused Dill, who was heavily pregnant at the time, to go into premature labour a day after her Police interview.

She said that Dill committed the crime because she was in dire financial straits and needed the money to pay her rent.

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner gave Dill a conditional discharge and two years probation, during which time she is to seek whatever rehabilitative programmes are selected for her by court services.