Smithfield man jailed for theft

- Published: 13 April, 2010

An accounts manager who stole £40,000 from the Norwich-based meat company he worked for has been jailed for 18 months.

Iain Dinning, 52, who had worked for Smithfield Foods, admitted a series of theft charges when he appeared before Norwich Crown Court on 7 April.

The court heard that Dinning had taken the money over a five-year period to try and resolve his debt problems.

In mitigation, it was said that Dinning was a man of previous good character who had been racked with guilt over what he had done.

But jailing him, Recorder Andrew Hurst said Dinning could have resolved the problem by using bonuses he received from the company.

“This was a breach of trust. Rather than reduce your overheads you relied upon an £8,000-a-year dishonesty to tide you over.

“There was time after time when it would have been possible for you to try to pay the money back.”

Smithfield Foods Ltd was formed in 2004 when the Norwich Food Company merged with Ridpath PEK. Smithfield Foods is owned by US company Smithfield Foods Inc the world’s largest pork processor.

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