A noted island pool player has been jailed for stealing tens of thousands of pounds from his employer to fund his lifestyle.

Calum Gardner’s thefts resulted in the company he was working for having to cease trading.

The 25-year-old, of Hillcroft Green, Douglas, was jailed for 28 months after admitting thefts totalling £66,676.

He was also ordered to pay compensation of £16,680.

The court heard he had spent vast majority on furnishings for his home including a TV, furniture and white goods valued at about £8,000-£10,000.

He also paid rent, debts to his family, and bought a Mitsubishi Evo 7 and a Rolex watch.

Deemster Graeme Cook told him: ‘This is an appalling breach of trust.’

Prosecutor James Robinson told the Court of General Gaol Delivery: ‘He stole the money to fund his lifestyle.’

He said that the defendant began working as a payments administrator and relationships manager for Ballasalla-based payroll company Paradigm Back Office Solutions in October 2022.

His role involved him making payments to clients and companies on a daily basis.

Paradigm paid UK-based consultants with funds provided to them by umbrella companies and Gardner was involved in paying contractors employed by two of these umbrella companies, Canopaye Limited and Marquee Limited, both of which had a UK-based bank account which Paradigm has access to in order to make payments.

On February 13 last year, an accountant employed by Paradigm noticed that figures were lower than normal and that two payments totalling about £10,000 had been made by the defendant and shown as a contractors pay advance.

The following day the defendant resigned from the company and did not return to work.

On March 7 last year, the accountant returned to Paradigm and tried to search for the money coming in for the two advances and became suspicious when he noticed that the bank details did not match the beneficiary name.

A test payment was set up which proved that the account belonged to the defendant.

A number of payments from the Canopaye and Marquee accounts into the defendant’s own accounts were discovered between October 2022 and February 2023.

Each had a different name on them, the names used all being legitimate company clients so as to not arouse suspicion.

The accountant informed one of Paradigm's directors, who immediately called the defendant to ask him about the transactions. Gardner told him that he was in Malta playing pool and denied having taken any money.

But withing the hour, he handed himself in at police headquarters.

Interviewed by police, he admitted the thefts but said he did not know how many transactions he’d made.

He said he had recently suffered a rough break up with his ex-partner who he claimed had taken all the money and left him with nothing.

Mr Robinson told the court that Paradigm had been forced to cease trading.

It had been paying money out of its own funds to reimburse the big clients who then said they no longer required its services.

The company was unable to attract new clients due to the reputational damage it had sustained as a result of the thefts.

Deemster Cook said the offences had left Paradigm ‘floundering’, with consequent job losses.

‘It was an appalling state of affairs,’ he said.

He told the defendant that he had carried out the thefts for financial gain and to fund his ‘lavish lifestyle’ but accepted he had shown remorse and noted he had recently become a father. ‘You have ruined this early part of your life,’ he said.

Gardner will serve half his 28-month sentence in custody and will then be released on licence.