Bush Hill Station: Image by Mike Hillen

WHEN a member of staff at Bush Hill Service Station in Pembroke arrived to open the business at 6am on a Monday morning, he did not expect to find the door already unlocked, and the alarm system deactivated, a court heard this week (Nov 4). That, according to the prosecutor, led the management of the premises to discover that £3102.21 was missing from the safe, and to the arrest hours later of staff member Stuart Daniel Batley. Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court heard how a quick review of petrol station’s sixteen camera CCTV system, which had been unplugged, revealed that Batley had turned up at 4.55am; just over an hour before opening time. It became evident that Batley had switched off the cameras but did not manage to erase the part of the video where he entered the premises. Prosecutor Ellie Morgan said: “There are nine members of staff working at the petrol station. Four have keys to the front door. The defendant is one of them. Owner Darren Briggs had explained to the police that he recognised that it was Batley on the CCTV. Police attended Batley’s home address at around 12pm on the same day, but he was not it. Fifteen minutes later he was seen by officers walking towards his house with his child in a pram.”

I’M NoT GUILTY “Batley admitted to officers there and then that he had stolen the money and thrown it into a hedge. He reportedly said to police: ‘I’m not a thief so I don’t know why I did it. To be honest I was not thinking anything, I really wasn’t thinking anything at all.’ Morgan continued: “ The police went to the location and recovered £1935.00 which was still in three money bags. The defendant was then arrested, strip searched and interviewed. Police were mindful that not all the cash had been recovered and asked for an explanation. During questioning Batley said that he had ‘just remembered’ that he had thrown a balaclava and gloves under a construction container in Clare Walk near his home. There police discovered another £650, but there was still a short fall of £517.21, so there will be a claim for compensation in that amount.”

DEBT WORRIES Duty solicitor Matthew Raggett told the bench that Batley was in a large amount of debt with council tax, phone bills and loans: “His total indebtedness was between £60,000 and £70,000. He was now getting demands from bailiffs and was unable to sleep worrying that they would take everything” he said. Mr Raggett added: “Normally Stuart Batley is a right-minded person. He is now at a loss as to his reasoning behind doing this. When he got a call from his wife, to say that the police were at the house, he asked his wife to wait upstairs. He was too ashamed to let his wife know what had happened. He is, your worships, of previously good character. Clearly this is a gross breach of trust. Loans which were taken out in his name by other family members have added to his debts.” After retiring for a lengthy period of deliberation, the bench decided not to send the case to Crown Court, but asked for probation reports to be prepared before passing sentence.

KNEE JERK REACTION Speaking after a brief adjournment, probation officer, Julie Norman said: “Batley’s father took out loans in his name, and this has only come to light in the last few years. It’s all got a bit too much for him – the theft was a knee jerk reaction. He now is expressing extreme remorse and is frightened that he will receive a custodial sentence. He has a wife and two children, and is now taking medication for his emotional wellbeing. I am going to recommend a supervision order today with a high level community order. Batley is also suffering from a medical condition – the discs are crumbling in his spine. Magistrates deliberated and said: “We are not going to send you to prison on this occasion. You have shown remorse. You are of previous clean character. In the circumstances, we do realise that you have problems that you have to deal with.” Batley was given a community order with 12 months supervision. He will have to undertake 80 hours of unpaid work. He was ordered to pay a victim charge of £60 and compensation of £517.21 to cover the missing money at £5 per week starting in a months’ time.