A HALESOWEN man who ran up a gambling site bill for more than £1,000 on a work mobile phone has been locked up for 10 months.

Allan Clarke kept ringing a telephone gambling app and also ordered £4,300 worth of power tools on the company account and sold them on, said Andrew Wilkins, prosecuting.

He told Wolverhampton Crown Court the 38-year-old worked as a production supervisor for BMI Engineering and he was making calls on his mobile that cost £30 a time.

When the company realised his phone bill was far higher than it should have been, Clarke tendered his resignation.

It was then discovered he had ordered £4,387 worth of power tools from a local supplier on the company account and they were then sold.

Clarke, of Beech Avenue, Coombswood, admitted two charges of fraud by abuse of position and Judge John Wait told him his crimes were aggravated by an earlier conviction of theft involving a previous employer.

He said details provided by Clarke regarding his financial situation at the time proved to be highly unsatisfactory and his account was “riddled with inconsistencies”.

Exdol Mitchell, defending, said when Clarke's marriage was hit by problems he found the gambling app on his mobile.

“He was depressed and regrettably he sought comfort in that app and things spiralled out of control,” said Mr Mitchell.

He told the court Clarke's wife had left him but she then returned to the family home and gave him an ultimatum – to stop gambling or the marriage was over.

Mr Mitchell said his wife leaving was the trigger for Clarke that started him off in the first place, adding he now had debts of more than £6,000.

The judge told Clarke his crimes had been a serious breach of trust.