A WORKER stole his boss’s bike and attempted to sell it on Facebook, as well as taking cash from the till after claiming he was not paid for his “good and honest work”.

Reece Rowland, 25, formerly of Southchurch Avenue, Southend, stole £20 from the till of Timber Now in Southend, before returning to steal the bike worth more than £400.

He claimed the firm had not paid him and he couldn’t afford to buy food.

Rowland was jailed after the incidents, due to being in breach of two suspended sentences for threatening behaviour.

Prosecuting at Basildon Crown Court, Claire Cooper said: “He had been working there for some time and the till was found to be £20 short one day and when they checked the CCTV they saw Mr Rowland had taken it.

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“He was then dismissed and two days later the director found his bike was missing and it was worth £434, then when he checked on Facebook Mr Rowland was trying to sell it and was in talks for this.

“He admitted the offences but was in breach of two suspended sentence orders. He made no comment in the interview.

“There was breach of trust as a degree of this and responsibility was placed on him.”

Mitigating Natalie Bird said that Rowland “needed cash to eat” and claims he had not been paid.

She said: “He’s never been to prison before and his living situation is good with stable accommodation and work too.

“He spent years splitting his life between Dorset and Southend and it disrupted his education too and he left school as soon as he could, aged 16.

“He says work was going well with the timber firm but he claims there were issues with being paid and says money was held back from him.”

Mrs Bird also told the court that Rowland was living in his car.

Sentencing Judge Samantha Cohen said: “It was a brazen and stupid thing to do and you have kept offending but you are now at the end of the road.”

He was jailed for 19 weeks.