Simon Price and his wife Alayna cheated a dogs home out of almost £900,000

A former charity boss faces five years in prison after taking a significant sum of money from a home for dogs.

Former Birmingham Dogs Home boss Simon Price, 53, and his wife Alayna, 39, admitted cheating the charity out of a total of £894,754 over a four-year period from 2012.

Price, who admitted 10 offences, and his spouse, who pleaded guilty to five offences, funnelled cash into their personal accounts, leaving the well-established and trusted charity weakened, a judge heard last month.

The money had been intended to keep animals safe, but Birmingham Crown Court heard how Price spent thousands on gambling, trying to recover ever more cash on his losing bets.

Price was jailed for five years, whilst his wife – who was commercial manager of the charity – was issued with a two-year suspended sentence.

John Wheatley, chairman of Birmingham Dogs Home, said: “We remain bitterly disappointed that a position of trust was abused in such a manner, but we now look to the future under the guidance of our new chief executive and with measures in place to ensure something like this never happens again.

“Some of the funds have now been returned and we remain hopeful that more can be recovered. We will work closely with the relevant authorities to do all we can on this matter.”