THE man in charge of an amusement arcade stole nearly £28,000 from his bosses during an eight month con.

Jordan Boyd had worked in the arcade at the Valley Farm Holiday Park in Clacton for five years before he began stealing the cash.

In total, he was found to have stolen £27,810 from the Parkdean Resorts site off Valley Road.

The park’s area manager called police in January after getting to the bottom of what Boyd had done.

He had calculated the precise amount which had been stolen from the firm.

Boyd stole the money between May last year and when it was uncovered in January.

The 26-year-old admitted theft by employee during a short hearing at Colchester Magistrates’ Court.

The bench agreed that Boyd, of Oakham Drive, Lydd in Kent, should be sentenced at the crown court as their powers of sentencing were insufficient considering the amount he had admitted stealing.

A date for his sentencing was scheduled for December 2 at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Chairman of the bench Don Wickes warned Boyd that he must attend when instructed.

“The offence which you have admitted to is beyond our sentencing powers,” he said.

“We are going to commit you to Chelmsford Crown Court for sentencing in front of a judge.

“Until then, you are granted unconditional bail.

“If you do not come back at the date and time instructed you will be committing a criminal offence.

“If you commit another offence while on bail then the sentence may be greater than it otherwise would have been.”

The court was told there were significant mitigating factors which led to his offending.

A pre-sentence report was ordered to assist the judge overseeing the case.