AN employee working at a Darlington nightclub has admitted stealing £1,000 from his boss that he was supposed to put in the company safe.

Kevin Tomlinson, of Chillingham Court, Darlington, appeared at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates Court charged with theft from The Keys on Skinnergate on Sunday, January 25.

He pleaded guilty to taking £1,000 cash that should have gone in the safe inside the nightclub and restaurant which opened last November.

Vicky Wilson, prosecuting, said: “Mr Tomlinson was employed by The Keys at the time of this offence. His manager was counting money and he handed Mr Tomlinson a bag for him to put in the safe which contained £5,400 cash.

“Mr Tomlinson then went to the room where the safe is, took out £10 notes to the value of £1,000 and put the bag with the rest of the money into the safe.

“He wrapped the £10 notes in a piece of paper and put them in his trouser pocket and left. The next day the owner realised the money was missing, checked the CCTV footage and caught the defendant.”

Hilary Payne of the Probation Service said the defendant, who has a law degree, had been using drugs around the time of the offence.

She said: “He stated to me that at the time that had happened he had been using cocaine.

“At this moment in time he has an interview for another job and has been successfully accepted into the role where he will be working 12-hour shifts on a Saturday and Sunday.”

Alan Green, mitigating, said Tomlinson was paying the money back to the employer and was being charged interest.

“The money is effectively being treated as a loan by the previous employer. One payment of £100 has already been paid and there has been an agreement that the money will be paid back on a monthly basis with interest,” he said.

Chair of the bench, Nicholas Edger, said the defendant had breached his employer's trust.

“Putting those notes into your pocket is despicable especially as they have taken you on into a position of trust which you have breached terribly,” he said.

The 26-year-old was given a 12-month community order with 80 hours unpaid work.

He was also ordered to pay £85 court costs and a victim surcharge of £60.