Sub-postmaster stole to save Hertfordshire village shop

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Villagers have helped a sub-postmaster repay more than £28,000 which he stole from the Royal Mail to keep his struggling village shop afloat.

Graham Warnes, 55, who runs a shop in Fowlmere, Hertfordshire, was given a suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to theft between 2007 and 2009.

Luton Crown Court heard when his shop began to struggle, he used money from the store's post office to prop it up.

Villagers have since loaned him the money to repay the Royal Mail.

Guilty plea

Warnes, of Westfield Road, Fowlmere, has run the shop for 21 years. It began to get into financial difficulties three years ago.

For two years, he regularly took money belonging to the Royal Mail to keep the shop going.

He saw the shop as an essential hub for villagers, the court heard.

The thefts were discovered last August when an audit was carried out by Royal Mail.

Judge Barbara Mensah was told that Warnes had been able to repay the money to Royal Mail as a result of loans from villagers.

Warnes pleaded guilty to the theft of £28,597.

The court heard that after the audit, Warnes immediately admitted taking the money and said: "The shortage is 100% down to me."

Kevin McCartney, defending, said: "People who engage in financial crime normally do so to fund greed or fund a lifestyle they couldn't afford. That doesn't apply in this case.

"The motivation was to try and ensure the shop side of the business was able to continue."

Warnes was given a nine month jail sentence suspended for 12 months and told he must carry out 200 hours of unpaid work. He will also have to pay £965 in prosecution costs.

The sub post office that he ran is now closed and now operates from the village pub.

'Fantastic' support

Warnes, who still runs his shop, said after sentencing: "All I can say is that there is a big thank you from me to the villagers for their support and I will do all I can to put things right.

"What the villagers did was really tremendous and the support has been outstanding. It is not until something like this happens that you realise just how fantastic people can be and who your friends are."

The village rector, the Rev Canon Linda Church said: "Graham has been utterly honest with everyone. He stuck his hands up and said 'I did it, I shouldn't have.'

"He has not tried to come up with excuses. He knows he made a big mistake and now wants to put it right.

"As a result, there has been a huge groundswell of support and some villagers have loaned him the money to repay back. Others, who didn't donate, made sure they continued to use his shop and didn't walk away.

"What it proves is that the community is alive and well. Sometimes when you hear the news you could be forgiven for thinking community spirit is a thing of the past, but this shows otherwise."

Mr Warnes added: "I don't think it would be fair of me to start saying who it was who lent me the money.

"They know who they are and I am just so very grateful to them.

"Now I am going to do my best to start getting the money back to them as soon as I can which, hopefully, will be in the next 18 months to two years."