A BLUNTISHAM man stole almost £2,000 from his employer after suffering problems keeping up payments to a pay-day loan company.

A court was told that John Flack, 24, of St Mary’s Road, was working as an assistant manager at Howdens Joinery in St Ives when he made refund payments, totalling £1,937.16, to his own bank account.

Flack denied stealing the money when confronted in an interview with the company’s regional security manager but confessed to his employers on May 20 after being overcome by worry and guilt.

He told police that he had been having trouble paying back funds he had borrowed from pay-day loan company Quick Quid and that the money taken from Howdens – between November 2012 and April this year – was used as a “security blanket”.

At Huntingdon Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (August 29) Flack pleaded guilty to theft by an employee and was given 180 hours of unpaid work as well as being ordered to pay back the full £1,937.16, £85 costs and £20 victim surcharge.

Julian Hopley, defending, said: “Unfortunately this is a nightmare situation that was brought on by a pay-day loans company that was pestering him for money that he owed.

“He had been on holiday with his girlfriend and when they came back they could not meet the material payments and so, in desperation, he turned to a pay-day loan company.

“The payments started to snowball and he still owes them over £1,000 and has another £1,000 on his credit card – this case shows the sort of problems that pay-day loans can create.”