Ex-shop worker in food voucher fiddle

The former assistant manager of a Black Country supermarket stole £140 from the shop by abusing its food voucher scheme.

David Westwood worked at Farmfoods in Camp Street, Wednesbury, and would pay for low value items using free food vouchers worth high amounts, pocketing the difference, Sandwell Magistrates Court heard yesterday.

Westwood, aged 28, who had worked for Farmfoods for more than 10 years, pleaded guilty to the theft which occurred between May 26 and June 6, while he was assistant manager.

Mrs Maxine Jarrousse-Jones, prosecuting, told the court: "There were five CDs of CCTV footage which showed Mr Westwood acting suspiciously at the tills and entering the canteen area of the shop with the cash tills, an area which is not covered by the cameras."

The court heard the tills would balance at the end of the day because the cash and vouchers would add up.

But the vouchers can only be used with a minimum spend and Westwood would use them for transactions which did not meet this criteria.

The court heard that Westwood, of Kingstanding Road, Birmingham, would buy goods worth under a pound with a £10 voucher which was only meant to be used with a minimum spend of £50 – then he would pocket the difference.

Mr Vaughan Whistance, defending, said: "He was living away from his family and was struggling to pay the household bills.

"That's why he got himself into this very foolish situation."

Magistrates sentenced Westwood to a 12-month community order and told him to complete 160 hours of unpaid work and pay £85 costs and £140 in compensation.