SHE is already having to adjust to life behind bars after stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds from her employer. Now, Louise Clarke, pictured right, is facing bankruptcy.

The former financial supervisor at British American Tobacco in Southampton has been ordered to pay back every penny she can, or face the bailiffs.

Clarke was jailed for three years on Monday for pocketing more than £302,890 of the company's money over a four-year period.

BAT has already taken civil action against Clarke and has been successful in obtaining a judgement which orders her to repay the stolen cash, plus interest and costs.

The judgement served at the end of June orders her to pay BAT £355,688.16 and states: "If you ignore this order your goods may be removed and sold, or other enforcement proceedings may be taken against you."

A spokesman for the company, which still employs 800 staff at its offices and research centre after the factory closed last year, said the firm is now seeking to enforce that judgement.

Andy Houston, who represented Clarke at Southampton Crown Court earlier this week, said: "BAT has already begun civil proceedings. That means she will be bankrupt at the end of all this, on top of everything else."

Clarke, 35, from Shirley, repeatedly tried to hide her identity when she was charged with theft and false accounting, hurrying from court wearing a motorbike helmet.

But she pleaded guilty to stealing from BAT, electronically transferring large sums from the firm into her and her 10-year-old daughter's bank accounts.

She spent the cash on holidays, eating out and a new car.

A spokesman for BAT added: "BAT takes a strong stance in situations such as this. Our policy is to rigorously pursue any employee who it believes has defrauded the company."