Devizes round tabler Stephen Johnstone faces the prospect of a jail term after a jury found him guilty of stealing from work.

The 42-year-old has been convicted of seven counts of theft from stone mason's Holley Hextall Associates following a two week trial at Swindon Crown Court.

And fellow round tabler and former pig farmer James Bodman, 40, who is now Johnstone's partner in a new stone business, was also found guilty of one count of handling stolen goods.

A number of other men who worked at the yard also pleaded guilty to a variety of offences before the trial.

Adjourning the matter for pre-sentence reports to be prepared, Judge Charles Wade warned Johnstone and Bodman: "All options, as far as sentencing, remain open".

Johnstone worked as yard manager for the Heddington based stone dealer, but started pilfering soon after he started in the summer of 2000.

He started by abusing his expenses but soon moved on to pocketing cash paid over by customers and taking paving slabs and other stone.

Terence Holley, who has run the firm from his home at Chittoe for more than 30 years, told the court that he was suspicious of Johnstone's behaviour.

As well as the trouble with expenses he said that since employing his yard manager who had given himself the title general manager the cash sales of about £800 a week had dwindled to almost nothing.

Johnstone also offered Mr Holley's secretary a free granite worktop from the yard which she declined and despite Johnstone telling her not to, she informed Mr Holley about the offer. Johnstone insisted that he had been joking.

A chance meeting with a private detective who wanted to buy some crazy paving gave Mr Holley the chance to test his yard manager.

The detective paid for some stones using £360 cash in marked notes, which Johnstone later handed over after being suspended.

The jury was also told that Johnstone's colleague Paul Rogers had admitted assisting an offender by planting an envelope containing the cash in a cash box in an office drawer.

Johnstone was convicted of seven thefts and found not guilty of two further counts. Bodman was convicted of one matter of handling and found not guilty of two others. When they are sentenced the two men will be joined in the dock by three other men who pleaded guilty at earlier hearings.