A DEBT-RIDDEN man who fraudulently banked £4,425 has been ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work.

Ryan Philip Parkinson-Jones, 38, admitted filling out a blank cheque to himself between July 12 and 19, while working in The Mail's advertising department.

A court heard that Parkinson-Jones had been handed a blank cheque by the victim, a customer of The Mail, on which he filled in his own name.

Mr Peter Bardsley, prosecuting, said: "He claimed he was having financial difficulties and was remorseful for his actions."

The money was stopped before it was transferred to Parkinson-Jones' account.

Ms Karen Templeton, defending, said: "This is certainly out of character for him and he regrets it massively.

"He's someone who has never been in trouble before. He had recently split up from his wife and was in debt and that put him under a huge amount of stress."

The court heard how Parkinson-Jones received more demands for money before he attempted to cash the cheque.

Ms Templeton said: "That morning he was getting more demands for money when he saw the cheque.

"It was almost inevitable that he would get caught out and he worried himself sick trying to put it right.

"He even went to see the victim to explain and reimburse him. This was just an utterly stupid thing to do."

Parkinson-Jones, of Stainton Cross, Kendal, appeared before South Cumbria Magistrates' Court, in Barrow today (November 15).

He was handed a six month community order of 80 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay court costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £85.

Speaking after the case, Jonathan Lee, group development director at The Mail's parent company CN Group, said: "The actions of Parkinson-Jones were first and foremost criminal, but also represented a huge breach of trust.

"When allegations about his behaviour were made, an internal investigation was immediately launched, during which Parkinson-Jones made a full confession. He was subsequently dismissed with immediate effect.

"The matter was referred to the police and we fully co-operated with their investigation.

"The Mail has more than 115 years of history in south and west Cumbria and the relationship of trust it has built over that period with our commercial clients and readers is of paramount importance.

"That trust was abused by Parkinson-Jones. We welcome the actions of the court and would like to reassure our customers and readers that this was an isolated incident."