A GATWICK Airport worker has admitted stealing more than £1,800 from the shop he worked for by stuffing money into his socks to help his mum pay back a loan.
Adrian Bolger, 43, appeared at Crawley Magistrates' Court last Wednesday and pleaded guilty to stealing £1,840 from WHSmith in the South Terminal between August 19 and September 8.
The court heard Bolger would pretend to scan items through the till and then take the customers' cash and hide it.
Mark Kateley, prosecuting, told the court: "The defendant had worked for WHSmith since 2009 as a sales assistant. He was working at stores at Gatwick Airport both landside and airside.
"The company became concerned about losses last year when it was noticed that money was disappearing.
"A covert camera was set up and Bolger was recorded taking money over time.
"He would put the scanner over items as a price check [rather than as a sale], take money from customers and hand them the correct change but rather than place the money in the till he took it. He was seen securing it in his socks.
"That happened on a frequent basis with amounts varying from £200 up to £480 on one particular day. The £1,840 total is understood to be a conservative amount of what was actually taken but it is what WHSmith can prove."
Bolger, who represented himself at the hearing, told the court he was compelled to steal, as it was a difficult time emotionally and financially for his family.
He said his mother was struggling to pay off a loan she had taken for his sister's ex-fiancé about three years ago.
Bolger said: "My sister's then fiancé could not get credit, so my mother took the loan out herself.
"When the relationship ended he refused to accept responsibility for the loan and it was left to my mother to pay it back. I took the money to help her because she was under a lot of stress."
Bolger, who lives with his parents in Surbiton, Surrey, said he began stealing when he was transferred from the airside WHSmith to the landside store where the setup was different.
He explained: "I was working on my own, and the only reason I was there was because my pass to get airside had expired.
"I started by taking just £10 to £15 a day. When I was alone, sometimes for up to 11 hours, it became easier to take more.
"I hadn't done anything like that before. I wouldn't have been on my own on the till airside."
Bolger maintains he did not spend any of the money himself.
He said: "I can honestly say I didn't feel comfortable in what I was doing but it was taking the pressure off my mother. She didn't know how I was getting the money, she thought it was coming from my pay. I fell into the situation and ever since I was arrested and spent nine hours in a cell I haven't stopped thinking about it. I have let everybody down."
Magistrate Colin Darnell sentenced Bolger to complete 100 hours of unpaid work. and pay WHSmith £1,840 compensation.
Mr Darnell said: "This theft was a breach of trust and the fact it lasted for weeks is an aggravating factor. We understand your motives for doing this and, of course, it is laudable to support your family financially and emotionally. However, you simply cannot do it by stealing from your employer."
