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Two employees of plumbers merchant Plumb Center were filmed stealing stock from the branch where they worked.
Managers noticed that figures were not marrying up at the Plumb Center Chippenham branch so fitted CCTV cameras to check the situation. They discovered that Simon Lippett and Christopher Woodhouse had been stealing thousands of pounds worth of stock.
But after hearing they had no previous convictions, and were under financial pressure at the time, a judge decided not to jail them.
This is Wiltshire reports that Claire Marlow, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court that instead of putting everything into the system they were entering lower figures and selling off the excess.
Passing sentence Judge Douglas Field said: “It appears that both of you were under some sort of financial pressure when you started stealing from your employer.
“It was, of course, a breach of trust and that adds to the seriousness of the situation.”
He passed 12-month community orders and ordered them to do 120 hours of community service each and to pay £500 compensation each.
