Crooked cleaner helped himself to bottles of booze…

Crooked cleaner helped himself to bottles of booze while working in Powerhouse in Newcastle

A crooked cleaner sneakily helped himself to bottles of booze while working at a popular city centre nightclub.

Alcoholic Robert Wood was employed by a company to do a shift at Powerhouse, in Newcastle, when he stole the liquor from behind the bar. CCTV footage captured the 36-year-old picking up numerous bottles of spirits as he finished work, putting them in a rucksack and leaving the venue, a court heard.

Just weeks later, while working as a cleaner for the same company at nearby Bacchus Bar, the thief also stole £260 in cash. He did, however, appear earlier in the year for that offence and was given a community order.

Wood, formerly of Malvern Road, in Howdon, near Wallsend, but now of no fixed abode, had been due to appear at Newcastle Magistrates' Court to face one count of theft by employee in May but he failed to show and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was finally picked up by police more than two months later and appeared in the dock in custody to plead guilty to the charge.

Prosecutor, Marc Atkins, said Wood was working inside Powerhouse on behalf of a cleaning company on August 20 last year. He continued: "CCTV was inspected and the defendant was found to be helping himself to numerous bottles of spirits from behind the bar, which he took out the venue, in a backpack."

The court heard that bosses at Powerhouse contacted Wood's cleaning company and he was sacked before the matter was also reported to the police. Magistrates were also told that, in September 2021, a few weeks after the Powerhosue theft, Wood also stole the cash from Bacchus Bar.

Mr Atkins added: "The defendant was convicted of the Bacchus theft on January 17 this year and was given a 12-month community order. The offence happened while he was also working as a cleaner for the same company."

The court heard Wood, who has 23 offences on his record, hadn't complied at all with that community order, having never been to an appointment or made contact with the Probation Service.

Judith Curry, defending, said Wood's offending was down to his alcohol problem. She continued: "He was not taking alcohol to sell but taking it to drink himself. He lost his employment as a result and his life spiralled further downhill. His relationship broke up and the relationship with his mother soured also."

Wood was given an 18-month community order, with 60 hours of unpaid work.

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