A POLICE officer has described his "utter disgust" at the actions of a former charity boss whose ‘greed’ cost tens of thousands of pounds.

Graham Leggatt Chidgey has been jailed for four years after pleading guilty to a single charge of fraud at Teesside Crown Court last month.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Constable Chris Pringle, from Cleveland Police’s Fraud Investigation Team, said: "This was an extremely complex inquiry where a long-serving senior employee in a position of trust had systematically defrauded his employer; a well-established and respected local charity.

"Mr Leggatt-Chidgey’s actions are in direct contrast to the spirit of the hospice’s founder Mary Butterwick, who sold her own home to set up this wonderful facility which has done so much good for the community for more than 30 years.

"Over a lengthy period of time Mr Leggatt-Chidgey helped himself to money – often provided by supporters’ fund raising activities - and I believe the hard working staff and volunteers who have given money, goods or their time to the hospice, will share my utter disgust at what he has done.

"On that note, I’d like to thank all the staff and trustees from Butterwick Hospice who have assisted with the police investigation while continuing to provide patients, their families and friends a service and level of care which is second to none. Their support has been absolutely invaluable and I wish them well for the future.

"I welcome the sentence handed to Mr Leggatt-Chidgey today and I hope, with the continued support of the community, the Butterwick Hospice can draw a line under this difficult period and continue to go from strength to strength."

Cleveland Police have also issued a range of advice to protect charities and businesses from inside fraud, including vetting employees, CVs and references thoroughly, putting a whistleblowing policy in place, controlling access to buildings and systems using identification and passwords, restricting and closely monitoring access to sensitive information, promoting a culture of  fraud awareness among staff, adopting a rigorous implement a zero tolerance policy towards employee fraud, and have a clear response plan in place in case fraud is discovered.