A Co Down man who defrauded an Ulster Unionist Party branch of over £6,000 narrowly avoided an immediate prison sentence on Thursday.
Desmond Patterson was handed an eight month prison sentence suspended for a year after he pleaded guilty last month to a single count of fraud by abuse of position as the treasurer of the Bryansford UUP branch.
The 67-year old, from Trassey Road in Newcastle, appeared at Downpatrick Crown Court sitting in Belfast via a videolink with his solicitor’s office.