Court hears how employee plundered thousands of pounds from Washington Wetland Centre

Stephen Street, 47, pilfered cash from takings at Washington Wetland Centre to fund his gambling during a period his father was unwell, a court heard.

Street, of Station Road, Shotton Colliery, Co Durham, hid his thefts by getting unsuspecting colleagues to approve what they assumed were his legitimate money sign-offs.

Instead, he was dipping in to take hundreds of pounds at a time during the period of his offending, between February 1, 2023, and June 1, 2024.

He admitted what he had done when finance chiefs identified discrepancies and informed him his section was being placed under investigation, prosecutor Keith Laidlaw said.

Street claimed he had taken only £5,000 but bosses say they counted at least £19,500 – and he pleaded guilty to a figure of £20,000 in admitting a charge of theft by employee.

In a victim impact statement read to South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, Gill Pipes, the centre’s manager, described Street’s criminality as a “betrayal”.

She said his actions had placed other cash-handling staff under investigation and left them fearing they could also face prosecution for falsifying documents.

And she said the Charity Commission had been notified, which could cause future issues, and publicity may impact the centre’s standing with the public.

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Mr Laidlaw said: “Gill Pipes, on May 30, 2024, was made aware by the finance department of discrepancies between cash taken and that received by the bank involving money expected.

“She asked for a breakdown of that and received an XL spreadsheet. Upon viewing this document, an internal investigation was carried out.”

He said Melanie O’Donoghue, believed to work for the centre’s human resources department, organised a meeting with Mr Street.

Mr Laidlaw said this was because Mr Street had leadership of the team where the discrepancies were identified.

The prosecutor added: “At this meeting, Mr Street admitted taking money from cash taken, and was formally suspended.

“There were other meetings with Mr Street, and he admitted taking £5,000. He told how he had taken the money and how he had masked it.

“Melanie O’Donoghue investigated, and the value of the missing money was about £20,000. This was unaccounted for.

“She held two more meetings with him to get a clear view of what had happened.

“In the first half of 2023, while dealing with the poor health of his father, he took from cash savings.

“He got counter signatures from other members of staff, knowing that they would not check his cashing up.

“He stated it was about £5,000. It was also stolen for other factors, including gambling. He denied taking £20,000.

“He said it was as and when he needed it, a couple of hundred when he needed it, but other times said he took it every month.”

District Judge Zoe Passfield told Street she had expected to sentence him but would instead send his case to Newcastle Crown Court.

She said she had decided to do this after hearing for the first time the centre’s victim impact statement.

Angus Westgarth, defending, said it meant the magistrates’ court would not get to hear Street’s mitigation.

Street will be sentenced on Thursday, February 12.