A worker who stole £1,300 from his employer to fund a gambling addiction has been sentenced to 12 weeks jail time. Oliver Bassett handed himself to the police after failing to arrive for work at a key cutting business in Cardiff.
Mr Bassett has been addicted to gambling since he was very young. To fund his habit he stole the contents of two safes and a charity box leaving only £15 remaining in one of the safes. He had been entrusted with the keys to the safe and was alone in the store when he committed the crime.
Locksmiths were called to Timpsons store in Cardiff to open the safes. After staff became suspicious, they tried to contact Mr Bassett but found that his phone was switched off.
After Mr Bassett pleaded guilty in his trial at Cardiff crown court. Judge Neil Bidder QC sentenced the 24 year old to serve 12 weeks in jail and ordered him to serve the remainder of a previous conviction. Mr Bassett had recently received a 30 month jail sentence for theft in a Liverpudlian betting shop but was released early. Mr Bidder also told him that he needed help for his serious gambling addiction.
Chris Rees who represented Mr Bassett in the trial told the prosecution that his client had intended to return the cash he had ‘borrowed’ to the store after making a profit from it, but he had lost the money in a bet. Unable to return to work, he panicked and handed himself over to Cardiff police. Mr Rees told the court that he didn’t want others to face the consequences for his actions.