THE relief manager of a village convenience store stole more than £3,000 to finance his gambling habit, magistrates heard.

Jonathan Walker, 41, of Lottage Road, Aldbourne, pleaded guilty to three charges of theft of cash from the store.

Rachel Hume, prosecuting, told Kennet magistrates that Walker, the relief manager at Alldays store in Aldbourne, had phoned police and told them the money had been stolen from his car while he stopped off to post a letter shortly after noon on July 22.

But police were suspicious about Walker's story, especially after hearing that the keyholder of the premises was called out to an alarm activation at the shop the night before and had found Walker at the shop. Walker later admitted his debt had spiralled out of control and he had stolen the money.

Jackie Lampard , presiding magistrate at the court in Devizes, said Walker most probably faced a jail sentence. She and her two colleagues on the bench called for a pre-sentence report and adjourned the case to Andover Magistrates' Court on August 29, where there are facilities for taking offenders into custody.