A TRUSTED bank official who stole £25,100 in 12 months from Santander branches in Worcester and Hereford has been jailed for two years.

Jason Grindley was caught red-handed on CCTV as he pocketed cash which customers had deposited in envelopes in ATM machines.

He anticipated a bonus, which never arrived, and he took out pay-day loans which left him with horrific interest bills, said his counsel Sophie Lomas.

Grindley, aged 26, of Buckle Wood, off Astwood Road, Worcester, pleaded guilty at Worcester Crown Court to theft between June last year and May this year when he was working as a service control manager.

Prosecutor Iain Willis said Grindley had been employed by Santander for nine years and had to register the cash which customers left in envelopes. It was after he was transferred to Hereford from Worcester that discrepancies were noticed. CCTV footage showed him removing money and putting it in his pocket.

Bank records showed he was responsible for 46 suspicious transactions and he immediately accepted he was responsible when he was challenged.

Mr Willis said no bank customer lost out through Grindley’s dishonesty.

Grindley had been due to receive a bonus of £1,500, which was not paid. Some of the stolen cash had gone on a holiday and £8,000 had been paid into Grindley’s Santander account. Police seized £320 which he had on him when he was arrested.

Miss Lomas said Grindley had worked for the bank since leaving school and had never been in trouble before. Unfortunately, he had borrowed £600 from pay-day loan companies such as Wonga and Quick Quid and was faced with interest payments of £2,000 a month.

She said: “He behaved extremely foolishly. His biggest regret is that he didn’t request his family to help him settling his debts.” Grindley now faced bankruptcy, losing the job he enjoyed and having to face the future in a factory or as a lorry driver.

Recorder Davinder Lachhar gave Grindley credit for an early guilty plea but said it was a breach of trust committed over a considerable length of time.

He only stopped when he had been found out.

He would serve half a two-year jail sentence before being released on licence.