A corrupt former police worker who helped a garage boss secure West Yorkshire Police contracts worth £2.5m has been told she must pay back £1,200 of her ill-gotten gains.

Samantha Cooper, 50, of Denby Lane, Wakefield, was jailed for two and a half years in June, 2016.

A former manager at West Yorkshire Police’s Vehicle Recovery Unit, she was convicted of committing fraud by abuse of position.

Michael Blamire, 51, who ran Bridge Garage in Ossett, provided recovery services for crashed, abandoned or broken down vehicles on West Yorkshire’s roads.

Blamire, of Wakefield Road in Ossett, was jailed for 14 years after being found guilty of the same offence after a trial at Leeds Crown Court.

Now Cooper and Blamire have been brought back before court and ordered to repay £1,209.80 and £80,000 respectively.

Leeds Combined Courts, Crown Court

They now have three months to pay after a hearing at Leeds Crown Court. If Blamire fails to pay he will face a further 12 months in prison. The debt they owe will never go away until paid in full.

Money recovered will be divided between the home office, HM Courts and Tribunal Service, the Crown Prosecution Service and West Yorkshire Police.

Ms Senior – head of the Economic Crime Unit at West Yorkshire Police, said: “Cooper and Blamire gained from their criminal activity and now they are finding that they have to repay those ill-gotten gains.

“They jeopardised their own careers and business by entering into a criminal relationship which resulted in a serious fraud. WYP will seek out any person who seeks to abuse their position for their own personal and professional gain.”

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Cooper was immediately suspended from the force when the allegations first came to light and the contract with the vehicle recovery operator was terminated.

Cooper no longer works for the force.

It was not clear how much money the pair made from contracts said to be worth £2.5 million.

The original trial heard that Cooper helped Blamire and his late father Mick cheat the tender process.