Treasurer of one of the largest archaeological projects in Britain stole more than £100k from charity

Pamela Bent pleaded guilty to four charges including fraud at Norwich Crown Court

Pamela Bent pleaded guilty to the charges at Norwich Crown Court (Stephen Pond/ PA) (PA Archive)

The former treasurer of an archaeological charity has admitted stealing more than £100,000 from the group.

Pamela Bent’s theft severely impacted the Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project (SHARP).

The group, based in Hunstanton in Norfolk, is one of the largest independent archaeological projects in Britain.

Its teams have uncovered major historical artefacts including a Bronze Age burial and a First World War aerodrome.

But at the end of 2023, the committee suspected serious financial irregularities in its accounts and finances and the police were called in.

Bent, 65, of James Close in King’s Lynn, stole the money while working as treasurer for the group between June 2020 and January 2022.

At Norwich Crown Court, she pleaded guilty to four charges including false accounting and fraud by abuse of position.

As reported by the BBC, although she has paid back half of the money, some £61,000 is still outstanding.

Asked by the broadcaster if she wished to apologise to the charity, she said: “I’ve already apologised.”

SHARP is funded by donations and has been carrying out digs each summer for more than 25 years.

In a statement on its website, the trustees and committee apologised to its membership for the theft.

They said the charity implemented new procedures in light of what happened.

The group also said that the theft had delivered a knock-back in its hopes of becoming sustainable in the short-term.

The statement added: “We are however confident with the new committee and trustees taking the reins, and these new procedures in place, that SHARP will survive this incident and go forward into the future.”