Adrianne Peltz accused of using charity's credit card for personal gain

Adrianne Peltz, 34, of Beatrice Road, Bangor, is accused of using a company credit card for personal expenditures.

The charge relates to dates between April 10 and October 12 in 2017.

The full charge reads: 'Defendant on dates between the 10th day of April 2017 and the 12th day of October 2017 whilst occupying a position in which you were expected to safeguard, or not to act against, the financial interests of Dogs Trust dishonestly abused that position in that you used a company credit card for personal expenditures with the intention, by means of the abuse of that position to make a gain for yourself or another or to cause loss to Dogs Trust or to expose Dogs Trust to a risk of a loss, in breach of section 4 of the Fraud Act 2006, contrary to Section 1 of the Fraud Act 2006'.

She has yet to formally enter a guilty or not guilty plea.

According to the Dogs Trust, Ms Peltz was its campaigns manager for Northern Ireland but no longer works for the charity.

The defendant was not present when the case was mentioned at Ballymena Magistrates' Court today.

Defence barrister Stephen Law said it was an "alleged breach of trust case".

The lawyer said he didn't believe it was a case which would "trouble the court".

The case was adjourned to August and Mr Law said the defendant would be present then.

Adrianne Peltz has a high media profile in Northern Ireland.

She has been a spokeswoman for Amnesty International in NI and is currently pictured on the Victim Support NI website as being on its board of trustees.

She is originally from South Africa but has lived in Northern Ireland for a number of years and other leading roles included the student union sector.

She had also frequently been a media commentator.

The Dogs Trust is the UK’s largest dog welfare charity and cares for over 15,000 dogs each year through a network of 20 rehoming centres in the UK including one in Ballymena.

Following the court hearing, a spokesperson for the Dogs Trust said: “Dogs Trust relies on the enormous generosity of the public to continue caring for over 15,000 dogs every year. It is of paramount importance to us that we use our funds in the best way possible so the public has confidence that their donations are being spent wisely."

The charity said the case was referred to the police following an internal investigation.