Samantha Wood, 27, from Hedon, Hull, said she cried in her bedroom as she watched the footage of her best friend of 14 years Melissa Collier stealing the cash and stuffing it in her bra.
The mum-of-one had met Collier, known to friends as Milly, when they were just 13 and they soon became inseparable, Hull Live reports.
Samantha trusted her implicitly so when the footage showed the 28-year-old rifling in her purse in her kitchen before stuffing the money in her underwear she broke down.
She said: "I cried when I watched the footage, it was heartbreaking. This was my best friend who I was helping and she was stealing from me, it was such a difficult process."
Samantha set up the camera after she noticed money from her savings jar and from her nine-year-old son's piggy bank was going missing.
The mum, who runs a cleaning business, said she noticed money disappearing last Christmas and said her savings dwindled from £200 to £40.
Knowing she didn't have any real evidence, Samantha chose not to confront Melissa so bought a secret camera from Amazon - hoping her suspicions were wrong.
She said: "I thought 'am I losing my mind?' I just didn’t want to lose a friend, therefore I was just telling myself I must be losing this money, I must be being irresponsible, am I spending it and not realising?"
On the day Melissa was caught on camera Samantha had gone upstairs to blow dry her hair leaving her 'best friend' downstairs to make tea.
Samantha said: "That day she acted like nothing had happened.
"She told me she had made me a cup of tea, like she had done me a favour, but she had just stolen from me.
"I'm a single mum and she knew I was struggling myself. She was my best friend, I confided in her in everything and then she was stealing from me. She left me in a position where I couldn't afford my bills.
"I loved her like a sister and she has not once cared about how her stealing from me was going to affect my ability to pay my bills or for my son Lucas."
Samantha reported the incident to Humberside Police and discovered Collier was already being investigated for burglary.
Since she was caught, Collier has sent dozens of messages to Samantha, to offer her apologies. She told Samantha she "didn't think she would ever get caught".
She wrote: "I'm so sorry, I know you've contacted police and got evidence. I should've stopped I know I should but I was struggling so much.
Collier, from Hull, pleaded guilty to one count of theft and five counts of burglary at Hull Magistrates Court on November 11.
She appeared again on December 10 when her case was committed to Hull Crown Court for sentencing.
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