A CIRENCESTER man stole cheques from his stepfather's office and paid them into his own bank account, Gloucester Crown Court was told.

Christopher Edwards admitted two charges of theft and two charges of fraud and asked for six other similar offences to be taken into consideration.

Edwards, 27, of Upper Churnside, Cirencester, stole £2,500 in total, having taken cheques from his stepfather's office at the family home in Nailsworth.

Lisa Hennessy, prosecuting, said Michael Gardiner ran his business from an office at home which he kept locked.

On December 5 he saw on his bank statement that two cheques - one for £650 and another for £600 - had been paid out of his account without his knowledge.

He called in the bank's security team and they discovered a third cheque - for £650 - had also been paid into Edwards' account.

Edwards was arrested by police and admitted stealing the money, said Mrs Hennessy.

In a victim impact statement, Mr Gardiner said he had always treated Edwards as his own son and had helped him financially in the past. His betrayal of trust had left him feeling angry and upset.

The money has now been reimbursed by the Royal Bank of Scotland, Mrs Hennessy added.

Mazar Iqbal, defending, said that Edwards had lost his job and had been too embarrassed to tell his family and had used the money to pay for items for the baby his partner was expecting at the time.

Sentencing Edwards, Recorder Patrick Clarkson QC said he was ‘just persuaded’ that a community punishment was appropriate and not jail.

He ordered Edwards to undergo an 18 months community order with 18 months supervision and to pay RBS £2,500 in compensation and prosecution costs of £276.