Agent not guilty of fireplace theft

But his barrister revealed that he could be sued for £180,000 - the amount knocked off the sale price of the premises to take account for the missing period features.

Ian Tannock, the former employee Mr Parker left in charge of a clearance operation at the building in The Tything, was found guilty of theft by a 10 to two majority verdict.

Mr Parker, the 42-year-old boss of Parkers, in Foregate Street, told Worcester Crown Court he was "devastated" when a security chief from Reality, which took over Kays, informed him of the thefts in December 2002.

Parkers had won a contract to clear the buildings of furniture and catering equipment.

Mr Parker, of Chapel Lane, Cradley, near Malvern, wanted to equip a new office planned for Kidderminster and saw Reality as a valuable client for future business deals.

But 26-year-old Tannock, of Market Place, Evesham, contacted Tradesales of Malvern to find a buyer for the fireplaces and was given £2,100 by the firm's boss Kevin Dudas in payment, said prosecutor Michael Conry.

Tannock, who had a police record, was found guilty of stealing 15 fire surrounds, stone and timber flooring and a staircase. He left Parkers before the thefts were discovered because he was unable to get on with female staff.

Recorder Phillip Parker granted Tannock bail while a pre-sentence report was prepared. He is now the owner of a pub in Evesham.

Mr Parker, who was unanimously cleared of a similar charge, told the court he had a turnover of over £1m and would never have sullied his reputation in the city with crime.

His lawyer Peter Arnold said because he was ultimately in charge of the clearance, he still faced being sued for the loss of the 18th Century features. The buildings were sold to local developer Neil Grinnall at a reduced price.

Mr Arnold described the prosecution witnesses as "shifty, unreliable and unbelievable" and dismissed the case against his client as "ludicrous".

Mr Parker was a straightforward businessman who had been wrongly blamed, the court heard.

Simon Coward, the company's IT consultant, expressed shock at the theft accusation and said Mr Parker had always acted "in an upright and honest manner".

Tim Sapwell, for Tannock, had argued that he knew there was no way he could have got away with a dishonest venture and would not have compromised his wife's fleet manager job with Reality.

But the jury heard that Tannock put forward a false alibi to cover up a pub meeting with Mr Dudas, only to withdraw it after claiming a mix-up over dates.

The prosecutor said greedy Tannock wanted money for "anything he could lay his hands on".

'I could have lost my son'

RELIEVED estate agent Nigel Parker revealed how fears of his son being taken into care if he was jailed haunted him throughout the trial.

The 42-year-old boss of Parkers, in Foregate Street, enjoyed a pint of Guinness last night as he celebrated the end of the week-long ordeal.

However, the single parent said it was a time to reflect and take stock after realising he could have lost his nine-year-old son if he was jailed.

"It's just me and my son, Harry, and out of all this the thing that struck me the most was that he might go into state care if I went to prison," said Mr Parker.

"It was a very difficult idea to take and all I am feeling now is relief."

Confident

He added that he was always confident of the outcome, but was stunned when his co-defendant, 26-year-old Ian Tannock, was found guilty by a 10 to two verdict.

"I was surprised more than anything because the evidence against him effectively came from the same person as against me - they chose to discredit the information in my case but not his," said Mr Parker.

He said he would now reflect on the saga and consult with his own lawyers as to whether there could be a civil case over the "mismanagement" of his original contract.

He added that he had "big plans" for contracts with Reality but would now have to wait and see if they were still viable.