cash from the Bank of Bermuda.

Heather Fox, 29, is alleged to have taken the money -- most of it in $100 bills -- from the Church Street branch where she worked in January last year.

She denies the charge of larceny.

Magistrate's Court heard yesterday how assistant supervisor Ms Fox had, as usual, taken a bundle of merchants' cheques and cash on January 10, and then calculated and recorded their totals before putting them in a secured vault overnight.

Her direct supervisor Mary Otene Francis told the court that the following morning she went down to the vault to do a random count on some of the deposits secured overnight, and chose Ms Fox's teller box to check.

Ms Francis said the random checks were held regularly, but none of the tellers knew when their boxes would be counted.

She said with the defendant present, she counted the cheques and bundles of cash, at first by hand, and then using a machine.

But each time, the total was $5,000 less than the cash slip dictated there should be, which was filled out by Ms Fox the day before and then filed.

Ms Francis said: "I told her about the discrepancy and she said `it was there last night'. So, in order to give her the benefit of the doubt, I counted again.'' Senior managers discussed the issue with Ms Fox and the court heard that Police were called in.

Defending Ms Fox, Attorney Richard Horseman suggested to Ms Francis that the defendant had reported a discrepancy in a customer's deposit bag, but she denied the claim.

And he said: "I further put it to you that you instructed Ms Fox to change the total on her control form.'' Ms Francis replied: "No''.

The supervisor told the court that she had written on the control form the evening the money was secured, along with details written by Ms Fox, but said she did not sign it or count the deposits to make sure they corresponded with the total written on the sheet.

Mr. Horseman added: "On January 10, Ms Fox was the only one who added up the figures? Correct?'' To which Ms Francis agreed.

And he continued: "In your experience, have you ever seen the tellers miscount the cash in the box?'' And the witness said: "Not deliberately''.

Mr. Horseman said in her evidence Ms Francis had only mentioned the bundle of hundred dollar bills that was missing.

However, he said the discrepancy in the box amounted to $5,209.98, which she agreed with.

Detective Constable David Geraghty told the court that on January 11 he was called to the Bank of Bermuda to investigate the matter and after talking to Ms Fox and managers, he escorted the bank teller to Hamilton Police Station.

There, she was searched by a female Police officer, who found more than $1,000 in cash on the suspect.

The trial was adjourned until April 16.