THE secretary of a working men’s club syphoned off nearly £3,000 of club funds into his own bank account.

Blackburn magistrates heard the missing money was discovered after Derek Barden had stepped down from his post at Rishton Workmen’s Club in Commercial Street.

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A new official noticed deficiencies in the club’s accounts.

Barden, 56, of Knowles Street, Rishton, pleaded guilty to theft of £2,900.

He was committed on bail to Burnley Crown Court to be sentenced on March 15 after the magistrates ruled their powers of punishment were insufficient.

Enza Geldard, prosecuting, said an audit of the club’s accounts showed £2,900 had been paid into Barden’s personal bank account at the time when he was club secretary.

Mr Geldard said: “He was sent several letters asking him to explain the transaction but there was no reply.

“No one had any right to that money except the club. When he was interviewed he initially suggested it must have been done by mistake.”

Ian Huggan, defending, said Barden and his brother had taken over the family engineering business following the death of their father in 2005. The brother left in 2009 and Barden continued to try to keep the business afloat.

Barden expected to receive some money from a pension in April 2016 and when he took the money in February intended to repay it.

Mr Huggan said: “The money did not come through from the pension and he was having difficulty keeping the business going. It was eventually liquidated in April.”

New club secretary Chris Hope said: “It was a major breach of trust and a blow as the club was struggling.

“Luckily it did not jeopardise its existence and we have since really turned things round.

“It would have paid for our new carpets.

“I think if I you asked our 450 members if they would prefer he paid the money back at £2-a-week or went to prison they would opt for incarceration.”