A FORMER church treasurer, given a suspended prison sentence for stealing parish funds, was back in court having failed to complete an unpaid work order.

Frank Pocock was given a 22-month prison term, suspended for two years, with 200-hours’ unpaid work, when he appeared for sentence at Durham Crown Court in September last year.

The 64-year-old, of Wilks Hill, Quebec, near Durham, admitted stealing about £20,000 from St Michael and All Angels Church in Esh Village, near Durham, between 2014 and ’15, money raised to meet the costs of central heating repairs, as well as perverting the course of justice, for attempts to cover the loss of the cash during the investigation.

Pocock repaid £13,250 of the stolen money following his arrest, while co-accused Peter Taylor, his “accountant” who posed as his solicitor during the inquiry, was ordered to pay £1,860 compensation, money seized from him upon his arrest, at a hearing earlier this year.

Taylor, 60, of Eslington Court, Gateshead, who admitted perverting the course of justice, possessing criminal property and fraud by false representation, was jailed for ten months, at the sentencing hearing, in September 2018.

Pocock, who only carried out 154 hours’ unpaid work within a year of the sentencing hearing, due to medical problems, having required knee surgery, has now been given a further 11 months to complete the order.