This is what the people of Leeds had to say after Toby Nye's mother Stacey Worsley avoided jail
Opinions have been divided after the the mother of tragic Leeds youngster Toby Nye avoided jail for defrauding thousands from his treatment fund.
Stacey Worsley was given a two-year sentence, suspended for two years, at Leeds Crown Court today (Friday) for losing thousands of pounds donated by the public in what the judge described as a "downward spiral" of online gambling.
Worsley, 32, of Osmondthorpe, lost six-year-old Toby in January this year after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
News of her sentencing divided opinion among the public, many of whom donated to the cause, with most sympathetic to the mother's desperate situation.
Commenting on the story on Facebook, Jay Sutton wrote: "Gambling can ruin you if you don't have the strength to walk away, it's easy to hold hope that a big win is gonna [sic] fix all your problems but those wins just don't happen all that often. Good luck on getting the emotional help you need".
Bekki Brazier added: "Poor woman lost her child. I get she made a mistake but I highly doubt she was in sound frame of mind [sic] . She could have turned to drink / drugs anything to try distract her from her harsh and tragic reality. Think the public need to cut her some slack".
Others have commented on how the case should not affect the public's memory of Toby.
Lindsey Howard said: "It's sad that the memory of her son will be tainted by this".
Others were less sympathetic to Worsley.
Pat Bairstow wrote: "Sorry I don't feel sorry for the fact she stole. Feel sorry she lost her child but she deserves to be punished for her crime".
Ross Millar said: "Good. Make an example of her to discourage others doing the same."