A WOMAN who carried out an £8,500 credit card fraud by pretending to be a resident of Balloch has been given one final opportunity to attend court for sentencing.

Elizabeth Thomson was not present when her case called at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on September 15 – prompting a sheriff to warn that a warrant would be issued for her arrest if she failed to appear in future.

Thomson, who was listed in court papers as a resident of Nottingham Road, Belper, Derbyshire, committed two credit card frauds between July 2013 and June 2014 by applying to American Express Bank and Tesco Bank using the identity of a woman she said lived at Redfox Terrace in Balloch.

Both banks duly issued a card to Thomson, and she went on to obtain goods and services worth £4,610.53 on one of them and £3,897.32 on the other.

Solicitor Brian McGuire, who represented 37-year-old Thomson at the latest hearing, told the court she had been in regular contact with her principal agents, the Glasgow Law Practice, and that she had told the court's sheriff clerk that she didn't have enough money to travel to Dumbarton for the hearing.

He also said Thomson had yet to attend her local social work office to enable a background report to be prepared.

That, however, made no impact on Sheriff William Gallacher, who said he had read the correspondence on the case – and in particular Thomson's failure to appear on previous occasions – with “utter disbelief”.

“She has been here once,” the sheriff said, “and her absence on other occasions has been tolerated and endured.

“I will continue the case once more – if the matter continues like this, I will issue a warrant for her arrest.”

The case was adjourned until October 13, but the sheriff warned: “I expect her to be here, and I expect the report to be available.”