Keighley Mayor Michael Westerman appeared before Bradford Magistrates yesterday to stand trial on a charge of theft from Keighley Cougars Rugby League Club.

Westerman was arrested on August 15 after footage taken by a hidden camera appeared to show him take a player’s wage packet from a drawer in the office of head coach Barry Eaton, the court was told. The 49-year-old, of High Spring Road, Keighley, has denied the charge of stealing £19.70 from the club on August 15.

The court heard Westerman, who had been a fan of the Keighley Cougars for 25 years, volunteered as a public announcer on match days but was at the club as a spectator that day because he had recently suffered a stroke.

Prosecutor Tariq Bostan told the court that managers at the club had started an investigation and contacted the police after money started going missing in May.

He said the club began paying wages directly in to players’ bank accounts but left a dummy wage packet in Mr Eaton’s drawer and set up a CCTV camera in an attempt to catch the thief.

CCTV footage played to the court appeared to show Westerman entering and leaving Mr Eaton’s office twice, looking through a set of drawers next to a desk and bending down to look through the keyhole of the door. He is also seen to be holding a white object in his hand similar to the envelope containing the money, said Mr Bostan.