A GAMEKEEPER was asked by the club captain of a Birmingham shooting syndicate near Pershore to advertise for three new members.

But when the new recruits turned up for the start of the season, it was realised their fees of £1,200 each had not been handed over by Trevor Llewllyn, Worcester Crown Court was told.

Gareth Walters, prosecuting, said it was soon realised that 56-year-old Llewllyn, of Atch Lench, near Evesham, had not paid the cheques into the club account but into his own.

Llewllyn, who pleaded guilty to the theft of £3,600, told police that he had used the money for his own wages and for the benefit of the birds.

He was given a 13-week jail sentence suspended for 12 months and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work.

The offence took place in 2008 at a time when Llewllyn's relationship with his wife was under stress and there was an attack which killed his stock of birds, said Jason Taylor, defending.

He was also £10,000 in debt, doubted whether he could secure fresh employment and at one stage he drove to Scotland with an intention to end his life.

Judge Alistair McCreath said the theft was a serious breach of trust, which was wounding and disappointing. But he accepted it came at a time when Llewllyn, basically an honest man, was in difficulty domestically and financially.