Three men who stole tyres from a Keighley company have been told they could go to jail.

On Monday magistrates at Bingley adjourned the case of Brian Charles Benford, Michael Scott Denton and Terence Walter Flower for pre-sentence reports. The court heard they had stolen car and truck tyres from the Unity Tyre Company Ltd where they all worked.

The three were warned that magistrates were considering a custodial sentence.

Benford, 47, of Woodhouse Grove, Keighley, pleaded guilty to stealing car tyres and ten truck tyres belong to the company, which is based at Walk Mills, in Coney Lane, Keighley.

Denton, 23, of Calver Avenue, Keighley, and Flower, 30, of Sycamore View, Fell Lane, Keighley, pleaded guilty to a charge that between January last year and July this year, they stole 60 car tyres and ten truck tyres from the same company. Both also pleaded guilty to the attempted theft of a further 30 car tyres between July 4 and 11 this year.

The court heard that Benford worked as a deputy warehouse manager. Denton was employed as a checker, which included checking stock. Flower was employed as a driver.

Ewan McLachlan, prosecuting, said: "On July 14 this year, the company's warehouse manager became aware of a stock discrepancy in tyres. He noticed that on June 19 an invoice for 100 tyres from Taiwan signed by Benford had been changed to read only 80 tyres. He checked with the Taiwan company and found that they had delivered 100 tyres.

The warehouse manager became suspicious of two men - Denton and Fowler - who had been working together loading a particular truck, of which Flower was the driver."

He said on July 17 another driver - not suspected of being involved - was told to drive the truck to the north-east. He was told to make the deliveries and report back to the warehouse manager any excess in stock on the vehicle. Later in the day the driver rang to say he had 30 extra tyres on the wagon.

The warehouse manager said when Flower had arrived for work that morning and seen that the wagon had gone he had spoken to Denton and they both seemed worried.

Benford was later suspended by the warehouse manager after he admitted the extra tyres were on the truck to be sold off. He also said he had taken ten truck tyres and some other car tyres, four of which were later recovered from his home.

Denton admitted collaborating with Benford and said he had taken around 60 tyres.

Flower denied being involved at first. But when told that he had been implicated by Denton, he admitted the tyres had been taken to sell to friends and family.

Defending Benford, Paul Nicholson said his client accepted that he stole ten truck tyres and four car tyres. He denied the theft of two other car tyres because he claimed he intended to return them. Of the altered invoice he said: "He believes that the company's managing director signed the invoice and he says it was altered because he believed there was shortfall in the amount of tyres delivered."

Defending Denton and Flower, Elizabeth Wright said they accepted they stole 60 car tyres and ten truck tyres. "The car tyres they got rid of were to friends and family," she said. "They did not know how they would get rid of the ten truck tyres."

The three men were unconditionally bailed to reappear before Bingley magistrates on Wednesday, December 2.

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