Employee 'was under pressure from gambling debts' when he stole coal and defrauded women in their 70s

District Judge Nigel Broderick was speaking at Ballymena Magistrates' Court where Barry Young (35), with an address listed as no fixed abode in the town, was sentenced on charges of the theft of £980-worth of coal from LCC.

He was also convicted of two charges of fraud by false representation when he sold coal “which was not yours to sell” to a woman and offered a number of bags of coal for sale to another woman.

The three charges relate to August 29-September 1 this year.

A prosecutor said a 78-year-old woman said she knew the defendant worked for LCC, with whom she had been a regular customer, and Young said he had "60 to 80 bags of coal" and that he could sell them to her for £600.

She paid cash but he did not return and did not provide the coal.

The court was told the defendant offered to sell a 74-year-old woman bags of coal "for a good price" – £700.

He "did return with some of the coal" and requested the money be sent to his "own personal account", which the woman did with an online transfer.

The prosecutor said LCC attended the next day and "recovered the coal as it had not been authorised", then "credited both victims for the amount they had paid out".

District judge Nigel Broderick said: "That was very good of the company – they stood in and they put credit on the account, which is to their credit, so the victims didn't lose out financially, but the company has lost out.”

The prosecutor said the company said the defendant had worked for nearly 10 years with them but he had "become unreliable in the past six months and that is why he wasn't actually allowed to pick up coal orders, so he had done this without their knowledge".

The court was told the defendant, who had lived in Northern Ireland for around 15 years, had a previous criminal record from England including robbery.

A defence barrister said the defendant now works in a "local factory" and is "extremely remorseful".

The lawyer said the defendant had been under "pressure" as a result of "debts which accrued from gambling".

The court was told four other suspected victims have now come forward.

Judge Broderick told the defendant: "This was a particularly nasty offence: to approach two elderly individuals and take money off them at the doorstep promising the delivery of coal is a very nasty thing to do.

"To the credit of your then employer, who I have no doubt sacked you immediately, they reimbursed the individuals but they are financially at a loss.”

He handed down a six-month prison term, suspended for two years, and ordered Young to pay £1,300 compensation to the firm.

The case was heard at Ballymena Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.