A trusted Fortnum & Mason employee has been convicted of stealing more than £90,000 from the store's takings to fund a luxury lifestyle in Mitcham.

Sheila Chivers, 55, of Fowler Road, used the cash to treat herself to home improvements and fund lavish shopping sprees.

Southwark Crown Court heard Chivers worked in the cash office at the flagship store on Piccadilly when she began to pocket money from the till takings.

She started by stealing £800 in July 2005 - but by the end of her year-long thieving spree she was creaming off up to £18,000 a month.

A jury found her guilty of 10 counts of theft.

Judge Gregory Stone said: "You were in a position of trust in respect of Fortnum & Mason's money and you stole a large amount of that money and you did it on a very large number of occasions.

"The evidence against you is absolutely overwhelming."

Chivers remained expressionless as the judge said she would not be granted bail.

Her two sons sobbed in the public gallery as their mother was led away.

Earlier, the court heard Chivers' personal accounts were riddled with debts, but she denied having money problems at the time of the thefts.

But the Crown claimed it was not a coincidence that no money was taken during April 2006 - when Chivers was on holiday.

She often paid cash straight into her bank account, but also gave cash payments to builders and paid cash for jewellery, including a £500 ring.

Her deception was revealed in May 2006, when a staff found a discrepancy of around £40,000 between a manual cashbook and a computerised cashbook.

On one day alone, there was a shortfall of £1,000 - the difference between till takings and the money that was actually banked.

When questioned by her bosses, Chivers said someone at the bank must have kept the money, or one of her colleagues had pocketed the cash.

Police arrested Chivers in June 2006, and officers asked her to explain a string of cash payments she had made for goods and services.

A substantial sum of money was spent on curtains at her home, the court heard.

But Chivers claimed her sons, who lived with her, would often give her cash so she could buy curtains or have building works done.

She denied the theft.

Chivers will be sentenced on March 14.