Stuart Garner, 38, initially denied any wrongdoing when confronted by his bosses at the Hills Garage petrol station on Stainburn Road, Workington, suggesting that “anybody” could be responsible for the disappearance of around £17,000. At Carlisle Crown Court, prosecutor Gerard Rogerson outlined the offending, which happened over eight months in 2023. The barrister described how the defendant, from Whitehaven, started work at the Hills Garage petrol station as a cashier, but over the years he worked his way up to become manager of the company's Workington outlet. But in April of that year, an accountant identified that cash – around £17,000 which should have gone into a cash machine at the garage – was missing. Recorder Ciaran Rankin told the defendant: “You said you used the money to fund a gambling habit.