Worker stole £160 from self-service checkouts

A TESCO worker who stole £160 from automated checkout tills has been given a 12-month community order.

Patricia Cameron had worked for the store for around ten years and worked as a cash administrator at Tesco Express in College Green, Bristol Crown Court was told.

Having access to two self-service tills, she admitted pocketing £160 and said she intended to return it when she could.

Cameron, 47, of Cotham Brow, pleaded guilty to theft from her employer from November last year to February. As well as the community order, she was handed 200 hours of unpaid work and told to pay back her ill-gotten gain.

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Judge Simon Darwall-Smith told her: "This was a breach of trust occurring in a rather loose system of checking tills."

David Hunter, prosecuting, said Tesco operations manager Brendon Tucker discovered till discrepancies at the store and Cameron could offer no explanation.

He said Cameron was responsible for carrying out weekly checks of the self-service tills and, though there should have been a second person present, that was not always the case.

Mr Hunter said: "CCTV was checked and on one clip it appears to reveal the defendant taking a note or notes from the self-service till and pocketing them.

"When the loss was discovered, the defendant did not report for work."

The court heard Cameron was of previous good character.

James Haskell, defending, said his client was not working currently, having had the theft matter hanging over her head for some time. He stressed she had been employed in an administrative, not managerial role.

Mr Haskell said: "She is genuinely remorseful. She was under financial pressure at the time.

"This conduct is a significant embarrassment to her and her family."