Bank clerk who stole £120,000 found hanging from North Circular Road footbridge

A bank clerk who fled court moments before she was due to be sentenced for stealing £120,000 has been found hanged.

The bodies of HSBC worker Bhindi Dhanji, 31, of North Circular Road, Neasden, north London, and a man believed to be her husband were discovered yesterday hanging from a footbridge near her home.

She was facing up to six years in jail after earlier admitting two counts of theft by an employee.

Judge Anthony Pitts issued a bench warrant for Dhanji's arrest on Tuesday after hearing that she panicked before her sentencing at London's Southwark Crown Court could start.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the bodies were found near the A406 Staples Corner at 6.40am yesterday.

"The bodies were found hanging from a footbridge," he said.

"We believe we know the identities of the deceased and next of kin have been informed."

A post-mortem examination is due to be carried out tomorrow.

According to City of London Police, between 2005 and 2008 Dhanji took close to £60,000 from a pensioner's account after finding out she had moved to France to be with her family.

But Dhanji continued to make withdrawals from her savings even after she died in February 2008.

The account was suspended when the family notified the bank of her death 10 months later.

In April 2009, the family complained to HSBC that Dhanji was refusing them access to statements and account details.

At the same time, police said, the clerk was also stealing from a second of her elderly clients.

The bank spotted irregularities in the savings account while investigating the theft from the first victim.

Dhanji confessed, claiming a man had threatened her with violence unless she gave him regular cash payments.

HSBC reimbursed the accounts of both victims.

Dhanji was understood to have used the stolen money to put down an £80,000 deposit on a house in Watford.