No jail for £6k theft by insolvency firm worker

A former junior office clerk for an insolvency firm who stole more than £6,000 by cashing in company cheques that he had written out himself has avoided an immediate jail term.

Thomas Thornton, aged 25, of Sutton Coldfield, stole the money from Griffin and King in Walsall, where he had worked for seven years, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard yesterday.

He forged signatures on six cheques amounting to £6,351.57 between November 10 last year and January 3.

Mr Michael Taylor, prosecuting, said a suspicious transaction noted by staff last month sparked an investigation at the Goodall Street firm. It was discovered Thornton had written a cheque for £850.

He was confronted by ma-naging director Tim Corfield and handed in his resignation. It was later found that Thornton, of Little Sutton Lane, had written a further five cheques, all of which had cleared.

A seventh cheque for £1,200 was stopped on the day of Thornton's resignation. He admitted theft at a previous hearing at Walsall Magistrates Court.

In mitigation, Mr David Swinnerton said Thornton had got into financial difficulties using pay day loans with high interest rates.

Sentencing Thornton, Judge Michael Dudley told him it had been a "bad breach of trust". He said it was a case which crossed the custody threshold but he handed

Thornton a 26-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and ordered hime to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

Speaking after the case, Mr Corfield, said: "I'm glad he hasn't gone to prison. Pay day loans are vicious things. I wish he had spoken to me about it."