TWO men who stole over £16,000 of equipment from an Ellesmere Port manufacturing firm have been labelled "stupid" by magistrates.

Lee Eason, 52, of Windermere Road, Noctorum, Birkenhead and Mark Rimmer, 59, of Glencoe Road, Great Sutton, Ellesmere Port, had both previously pleaded guilty to stealing a total of £16,291.22 of lead ingots, dross and other manufacturing items from Innospec.

Both were handed a suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay thousands of pounds in compensation.

Prosecuting, Yvonne Dobson said managers at the Ellesmere Port company had suspected equipment was being stolen, and covert cameras were installed to catch potential thieves.

Once caught in December 2021, Eason had payment receipts from scrap metal dealers dating back to September 2020.

Enquiries were made with the scrap metal dealers, who confirmed the transactions that had been made, with both defendants benefitting financially.

Both men had been employed by Innospec.

Chris Hunt, defending Eason, said the defendant had no previous convictions or cautions, but had financial issues caused by compulsive gambling.

Those financial issues had led him to steal from the company where he was working as a contractor.

Mr Hunt added: "Inevitably he was going to be discovered," adding he was "caught red-handed" with the receipts, and the police "did not need to do much detective work".

Since the offence, Eason had sought help from a gambling support charity, and had been sacked by Innospec but had found new work.

Stephen Ferns, defending Rimmer, said the defendant had helped his friend Eason with a loan, and got involved in the offence so Eason could help repay that loan.

Rimmer had since retired after being invited to resign from Innospec.

He had made a "grave error of judgment", but also had no previous convictions, and the offence was not one "to be repeated".

Chair of magistrates Jean Banford said the offendeing was a "serious theft".

She added: How stupid, after all those years of work, to do something like this and get a criminal record?"

Both defendants were handed a 26-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to carry out 150 hours unpaid work. Eason must also complete 15 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement.

In addition, both defendants must pay £4,000 compensation each to Innospec.

No court costs were awarded.

Ms Banford told the pair: "I am pretty convinced we won't see you again in here."