A DAD took money from his employers over the course of two years to pay for nappies for his new-born baby, a court head.

John Wood appeared before magistrates charged with taking more than £800 from CEX in Barrow to help with ‘financial difficulties’ faced by his family.

South Cumbria Magistrates’ Court was told Wood worked as a supervisor for the Dalton Road shop, which sells electronics and allows people to trade-in used items.

Wood, 32, of West View Road in Barrow, pleaded guilty to taking the money from his employer Whitley Hall Ltd, the franchisee of the CEX store.

Prosecutor Amy Labram told magistrates the money was stolen between December 2 2017 and January 25 2019.

He was said to have used methods including cancelling orders after a customer had paid, then entering the order again with an item missing or as a different value, and taking the extra money for himself.

The court was told he took amounts ranging from £3 to £45 in a number of transactions.

Defending Wood, solicitor Andy Gallagher said his wife had stopped working when she became pregnant and that his client had taken money to pay for ‘essentials’ like nappies for the baby.

“This is someone who has committed these offences out of desperation.”

The court heard the defendant did not tell his wife he was taking money from work.

Wood was sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid work in the community and told to pay back £853.79 in compensation to the store.