A HEREFORDSHIRE man has pleaded guilty to stealing at least £34,700 from a brain injury charity.

David Field, of Glewstone, near Ross-on-Wye, admitted various fraud charges when he appeared at Hereford Crown Court on Monday.

The court heard how the 56-year-old, who was employed by Herefordshire Headway as an accountant, used the charity’s money to pay a Tesco credit card debt and council tax.

Field failed to tell Headway that he had a previous criminal conviction for fraud and falsely told them he had a Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) qualification when he did not.

Judge Daniel Pearce- Higgins QC heard how Field spent Headway’s money on a stay at a Radison Hotel in London and that there had been “unattractive uses of the card for himself and for others”.

The frauds were comitted between April 2010 and January 2011.

Field took at least £34,796 from the charity, which has offices in Credenhill and works across the county to rehabilitate people who suffer brain injuries after strokes or accidents.

The judge has warned that the court could take into consideration the £9,000 salary he was paid, taking the total to over £43,000.

Field was released on bail until the end of November when he is due back at court to be sentenced.