A West Cumbrian man who used a fake name to gain pub work and then stole cash after being trusted to bank takings has been spared immediate prison.
Carlisle Crown Court heard Martin Christopher Thomas, 53, had been employed by a couple in London who ran two licensed premises in the north of the capital.
Thomas had asked the couple’s daughter for the code to an office in one pub. But his request was refused. “Failing that, he went and emptied the float from the till,” said prosecutor Brendan Burke.
Police located an address for Thomas in London although he initially failed to respond to calling cards which were left for him. He was eventually tracked down and arrested in Bedfordshire.
He later admitted stealing the £1,389 pub till float and was sentenced by a judge who observed he had a “pretty extensive” criminal record showing 14 convictions and 75 offences — “almost exclusively for dishonesty”.
After hearing of Thomas’s significant ill health and a plea from his barrister that he be spared jail, Miss Recorder Kate Bex QC did suspend a 25-week prison term for two years.
Thomas, of Church Road, Harrington, must complete a rehabilitation activity requirement and four-month night-time curfew, and pay £1,200 compensation to his victims.
“You stole that money from your employer in a clear breach of trust,” the judge told him.
