A SEA cadet leader stole close to £5,000 from the charity by fraudulently filling up his own car using a fuel card intended to pay for minibus trips for young people.

Liam Pickering admitted fraud by abuse of position when he appeared before Worcester Magistrates Court yesterday.

The 40-year-old dad of Knights Hill, Severn Stoke, near Worcester was the chairman of Malvern Sea Cadets, dishonestly abusing his position to make a gain of £4,753 between June 15, 2018 and July 19 last year. On their website it says the cadets offer a range of different activities from sailing, windsurfing and powerboating to rock climbing, camping, and music.

Shafquat Reaz, prosecuting, said Pickering had used the fuel card on 82 occasions before the fraud came to light during what he called 'a breach of trust' although he accepted that Pickering had paid some of the money back in the meantime.

The starting point within the sentencing guidelines indicated Pickering should receive a sentence of 36 weeks in prison as a starting point with a range available of a high level community order, at the bottom of the range, to a year in prison at the top.

Heath Thomas, defending, said: "He really wasn't dealing with money. The treasurer looked after that. He wasn't in control of the purse strings. One of his jobs was to sort out the fuel card for the minibus transporting the youths around."

He added: "It's not as if he set out with an intention to defraud the Malvern Sea Scouts of the sum of money."

Mr Thomas described the fraud as 'a very unsophisticated matter'. The card had a unique number and the defendant's name on it.

The Malvern Sea Cadets were paying the bill via a direct debit set up by the treasurer.

"It would not come to light until July 2019 when it was thought the fuel charges were a little higher than they might expect" he said.

Picketing has been paying the money back since December last year, so far returning £3,250 of the cash. He has also offered to pay any interest on top.

Mr Thomas also stressed that Pickering's role had been voluntary, not a paid position. The advocate argued that though the fraud had a detrimental impact on the charity it did not have 'a great consequence upon them', cadet leaders only becoming aware of it 12 months later. When they realised what Pickering had done, the committee members reported him to police.

The defendant had no previous relevant convictions and was a person of previous good character. Pickering also worked as a youth football coach and had himself been a Sea Cadet since the age of 17. Prior to these matters, his conduct was described by his advocate as 'exemplary' and 'laudable'.

The father-of-two, who had his first child when he was 15, is 'so embarrassed he can't bring himself to tell them" said Mr Thomas. He also said Pickering was 'grateful' he had been found out.

The chairman of the magistrates bench, Fiona Charny, said: "We accept it was unsophisticated but it was pretty unpleasant really and it was against a charity which we find very difficult."

Magistrates sentenced him to a 12 month community order. He must complete 160 hours of unpaid work and continue paying back the remaining £1,503 he still owes to the Malvern Sea Cadets. He must pay £185 costs and a £90 victim surcharge.