A former employee of carpets and flooring retailer Tapi Carpets has admitted stealing over £30,000 from the company.

Appearing before Winchester Crown Court on 16 December 2022, Daniel Salmon pleaded guilty to theft after he stole £31,313 between 19 July and 3 August 2022.

Mr Salmon was part of the leadership team at the Tapi store on St Michael’s Retail Park in Basingstoke and at the company’s stand in Homebase when the offences occurred, which happened on six occasions.

Upon discovering the theft, the company’s south director, Anthony Brown, attended the store on 5 August where Mr Salmon admitted to stealing from the company to fund his gambling addiction. His role as deputy manager at the business was terminated.

The court was told that Mr Salmon refunded money from the company’s card machine to multiple bank cards in his name and that his intention was to continue to steal funds until he was caught.

Mr Salmon said he was sorry for his actions and was sentenced to 12-months in prison, suspended for two years, alongside 200 hours of unpaid community service and told to pay £500 each month starting from January 2023 towards £6,000 compensation to Tapi Carpets.