A LEISURE park manager who stole more than £11,000 from its cash safe has been convicted of burglary.

Ben Cottam, who worked at Camber Sands Leisure Park as an arcade manager, appeared at Lewes Crown Court on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old, of Denham Way, Camber, had previously denied stealing £11,165 from his employer on December 19, 2019, but pleaded guilty to the offence in November last year.

PC Ciaran Gaymer said: “Cottam had just been suspended from his work at the leisure centre over the disappearance of a sum of money from accounts and had his work keys taken from him.

"He then got a fellow employee, who was unaware of this, to lend him a set of keys and used these to enter the office and remove the cash from the safe.

"Our enquiries, including access to office CCTV, clearly showed Cottam was the thief - although he did not admit it until his first court appearance last November when he suddenly pleaded guilty.”

Cottam was given a 16-month prison sentence suspended for two years, and a court compensation order to repay the total amount to his former employers at an agreed rate of £300 per month.

He was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of Community Service, 15 Days Rehabilitation Activity and to pay £450 court costs.