A compulsive gambler who stole more than £23,000 from a social club in Keighley has been jailed for three years.

Father-of-three David Charnock, 45, pocketed the cash while working as a steward at the St Anne's Catholic Social Centre.

A jury at Bradford Crown Court found him guilty of one charge of stealing money from the weekly takings. But he was cleared of a further charge of stealing £1,500 from the float money. He had denied both allegations.

Judge John Cockroft told Charnock that he had committed the "grossest breach of trust" over a period of eight months when he stole a large sum of money from the club.

He said: "I strongly suspect that the reason behind your thieving was a compulsion to gamble. This was a disgraceful breach of trust because one knows that Catholic centres are in their very nature trusting and possibly somewhat amateurish in terms of accounting."

After the verdicts were reached, his defence barrister Simon Myers said: "Mr Charnock has something of an addiction to gambling. It may well be that his earlier bankruptcy when he ran a public house relates to that."

During the trial, the court heard that he was suspended in September 1997 after financial discrepancies were found.

An inquiry was launched when the club got into difficulty paying its bills, said prosecutor Michael Pearson.

After the case, St Anne's club member Sean Gilligan said: "I feel very sorry for the family, especially the children - the consequences have been very serious."

He said the family was very well known in the community, including the church and schools.

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