A Court has heard how a Keighley social club was losing hundreds of pounds a week before discrepancies in its accounts were uncovered.

Auditor Robert Greenwood was called to investigate what he described as a "chronic shortage of funds" at St Anne's Catholic Social Centre over a period of six months.

He told the jury at Bradford Crown Court that the money was disappearing between cashing up and taking the amounts to the bank.

"I concluded that on average £600-£700 a week that should have been banked was not being banked," he said.

Former steward of the club David Charnock, 45, is accused of stealing just over £23,000 over nine months. He has pleaded not guilty to two charges of theft.

The court was told Charnock, of Browfield Terrace, Silsden, did record the takings from the bar and gaming machines correctly.

But it was alleged by the prosecution that he failed to bank the full amounts between January and September 1997.

When the alleged matters came to light, Charnock was suspended from his job at the club.

Prosecutor Michael Pearson has told the court that prior to Charnock's appointment the club had not experienced any financial irregularities. An investigation was launched when the club got into difficulty paying its bills.

He said that when Charnock was questioned about a discrepancy between the records and what was being banked, he had no explanation.

The court heard that Charnock was appointed steward at the 629-member club in mid-1996 and was responsible for banking the weekly takings from the bar and gaming machines.

The trial continues.

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