Pizza Hut boss stole slice of takings

caused a dent in the car door and kicked his mum’s mobility car before stamping on the wheel of a bicycle.

“Ferguson was also seen trying to set fire to the garden shed using a lighter and a cloth.

“He didn’t manage to do this, but did set fire to skirting boards lined against the side of the house.”

Ms Mclaren said police officers, accompanied by a dog, arrived and Ferguson “gave himself up”.

She added: “Flames were coming from the skirting boards and a fire extinguisher taken from the police vehicle was used to put them out.”

Defence agent Sandy Morrison said Ferguson had been drinking heavily around the time of the incident.

He told Sheriff Douglas Brown his client is now reconciled with his family and helps care for his mum who is ill.

Sentence was deferred until April 24 and Ferguson, who has two young children, had his bail continued.

A Pizza Hut manager who helped himself to some of the restaurant’s takings has narrowly avoided prison.

Darren Gorman embezzled £9500 from the restaurant in Gateside Street, Hamilton, over a four-month period.

At Hamilton Sheriff Court, on Tuesday, he was warned that he will have to repay the cash.

Gorman, 29, of Gateside Way, Condorrat, Cumbernauld, was also placed under supervision for 18 months and ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid community work.

He admitted taking the money between January and May 2017.

Gorman was originally accused of embezzling £29,752.80, but the Crown accepted his guilty plea in respect of the reduced sum.

Lauren Donnelly, prosecuting, said the accused was responsible for all aspects of banking at the restaurant. At some point the franchise owner became suspicious that“the money was not marrying up”.

Ms Donnelly told the court:“checks revealed it was on days when the accused was working that there were inconsistencies.

“The franchise owner commenced an investigation and the matter was reported to the police whose own investigation took some time to complete.

“The £9500 loss has not been recovered by the franchise owner.”

Defence agent Stephen Mcquillan said Gorman took the money not for himself but to give to a friend who was a“compulsive gambler”.

The solicitor explained:“pretty much all of it went to that person and my client didn’t get it back.

“Not only did he put his own liberty in jeopardy, he didn’t get any benefit from it.”mr Mcquillan admitted it was a“substantial”sum of money, but said that apart from one road traffic matter Gorman had no previous convictions.

Sheriff Liam Murphy told Gorman:“your actions involved a clear breach of trust and I must consider whether a custodial sentence is appropriate.

“I take account of the very full criminal justice social work report, your guilty plea, which saved witnesses coming to court, and the fact you have shown remorse.

“You describe your actions as stupid, according to the report.”

And the sheriff added:“in all the circumstances, I’ll impose a community-based sentence as a direct alternative to custody.”

The sheriff ordered Gorman to start repaying the cash at £250 per month, but Mr Mcquillan said he hopes to pay off a“substantial”sum shortly on top of that.