Sponsored by
Letter of the law
A FORMER Beverley Post Office cashier has lost his job and has been given a suspended prison sentence after being caught stealing £2,540.
Robert McClean, 39, worked for the Post Office for many years at branches in Beverley until moving to Lowgate in Hull.
His counter work began to arouse suspicion after a cheque was left in his work till drawer, that had not been put through the system under standard Post Office procedure.
Hull Crown Court heard on Friday January 20 the discrepancy was found by Hilary Bamford, on one of McClean’s days off work.
The cheque had been written in the name of McClean’s former construction business – which was no longer operational.
Crown barrister Jane Bryan said the following day Mrs Bamford checked to see if the cheque had been put through the system, but it had not. A check of the Post Office takings showed there was a £2,500 shortfall in cash.
It was decided to carry out a spot check on McClean’s till takings on July 16 2011 and it was found to be £2,500 short. The balance would have been covered by the cheque, but it was never put through the system. There was also £40 worth of stamps missing.
Miss Bryan said the police were called in and initially McClean tried to claim there was another missing cheque which was nowhere to be found. He said he had written a cheque from his old firm to cover the book-keeping error.
McClean of Shopeth Way, Woodmansey, Beverley, appeared in court after pleading guilty to the theft of £2,540 from the Post Office between May 10 and July 17 last year.
His barrister Adrian Waterson said his theft had cost him dearly and he was presently jobless. He said Mclean had pleaded guilty to theft, but had not been in charge of the post office at the time.
He said he had been supported by his sister at court, who was helping him find a job. With the help of his family he has raised £1,400 towards repaying the stolen cash.
Recorder Sandeep Kainth said the court sentencing guidelines suggested a prison sentence of up to two years. “Working in a post office means you have access to a large amount of cash,” said Recorder Kainth.
“I know this because I once worked in a Post Office.
“It was not a sophisticated crime and the finger of suspicion was not laid on anyone else. The aggravating feature was that you were working for the Post Office.
He imposed an eight-month suspended prison sentence and 200-hours unpaid work in the community. He also ordered McClean to pay back £2,540.94 in full, or expect to go to prison.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Beverley
Monday 21 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 7 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.