Kettering fraudster who took Wicksteed Park for a ride "ashamed"

An employee who defrauded Wicksteed Park by sending fake refunds to his account is "embarrassed" by his actions, a court heard.

Harry Allison-Norman, of Havelock Street in Kettering, was sacked by the popular park after an internal audit discovered he had stolen more than £1,000.

Through several false transactions between March and September in 2018 he took a total of £1,295.40.

The 21-year-old, who admitted fraud by false representation and theft by employee last month, was sentenced through a sign language interpreter at Northampton Magistrates' Court yesterday (Wednesday).

The Crown Prosecution Service did not outline their case in open court so it was not declared why Allison-Norman carried out his crimes, how many false refunds he issued or how he got away with it for six months.

Mitigating, David Rhodes said: "He is embarrassed, he is ashamed of himself.

"He does feel like he let his colleagues and employers down."

He added that media coverage of his earlier appearance had had an impact on him and that Allison-Norman had tried to pay the money back after he was sacked but "did not get a response".

Allison-Norman was sentenced to a 12-month community order with rehabilitation activities and will have to wear an electronic tag for eight weeks, meaning he must stay at home between the hours of 7pm and 7am.

He was ordered to pay back the money he stole in full in as compensation as well as court costs of £85.

Deputy district judge Liz Harte said: "Taking money from anyone is very serious.

"When it's your own employers who have trusted you, it's more so."

When Allison-Norman pleaded guilty a spokesman for the park said: “Wicksteed Park called in police after irregularities were identified during an internal audit.

“Following an internal disciplinary inquiry, a member of staff in our food and beverage team was subsequently dismissed in line with our zero tolerance policy on such matters."

The spokesman declined to comment further.