A NEW Forest sub-postmaster has been found guilty of stealing more than £55,000 from the Post Office.

Ian Kirk, 58, of Station Road, Sway, who ran the Post Office inside Sway Newsagents, told police he had been burgled while he was in the toilet.

But a jury of five men and seven women at Bournemouth Crown Court took just two hours and 13 minutes to find him guilty of theft of £55,180 between November 2003 and July last year, and of two counts of false accounting.

Earlier in the week the jury was told that details of Post Office transactions were recorded on a computer system by members of staff, meaning that Kirk was forced to try and hide his tracks by "cooking the books".

Prosecutor Warwick Tatford said that the Post Office had been alerted by the branch keeping too much money on the premises overnight. Numerous requests were made to return several thousand pounds but Kirk did not comply, the court heard.

On June 30 last year investigators went to find out what was going on and "that's when the cat slipped out of the bag", said Mr Tatford.

However, when investigators arrived, Kirk initially "fobbed them off", he said.

After 30 minutes waiting for the time delay to unlock the safe, Kirk said it had not been set properly and they had to wait another 45 minutes.

When the investigators said they would wait, Kirk told them that some weeks previously he had been the victim of a theft.

When interviewed, Kirk said he had been putting £60,000 into pouches on June 16 last year in order to return it.

After finding it gone when he came back from the toilet, he panicked.

Giving evidence to the court, Kirk said he had received "overwhelming" support and letters from well wishers.

The court also heard that Kirk had asked for the trial to be adjourned in September so he could produce bank documents that would have "destroyed the prosecution case" but had been unable to produce them.

Judge John Beashel granted Kirk bail until his sentencing in the New Year.

He warned: "This is an extremely serious offence which nearly always results in someone of your position going to prison."