A BUS driver has been allowed to walk free from court, despite stealing mobile phones worth more than £33,000 in his former job.

Anthony Quinn was previously working as a delivery driver in Runcorn when he stole dozens of expensive phones as part of fraudulent orders by others in a criminal operation.

The 59-year-old was caught however, and following a two-year wait before the matter was brought to court, he was subsequently charged with theft by employee.

The defendant initially maintained his innocence, before changing his plea to guilty after another two-year delay, and he was eventually sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday.

In total, 31 mobile phones worth a combined £33,614 were stolen over the period of roughly a month, prosecutor Helen Chenery informed the court.

The thefts occurred between August 5 and September 3, 2020, when Quinn was working as a delivery driver for logistics firm DHL.

As part of his role, he was given lists of the items to be delivered and the addresses of where they were to be delivered.

High-value items, such as the mobile phones he stole, were stored at the DHL compound, with the firm operating a depot near Moore.

Items are scanned by a scanner personal to each individual, with Quinn then taking them with his parcels for delivery that day.

An investigation began in September 2020, when a loss prevention manager at DHL received information regarding fraudulent mobile phone orders through O2.

Staff including Quinn were interviewed to investigate complicity, with the defendant dismissed and Cheshire Police involved.

Each customer a phone was to be delivered to was spoken to, and all confirmed that they had not ordered a mobile phone, and that the signature provided was not theirs.

The court heard that Quinn was not responsible for the fraudulent orders, with his role being ‘boots on the ground’.

He was interviewed by the police on December 13, 2022, where he answered all questions but could not remember any details about the properties he supposedly delivered phones to, denying any dishonesty.

Ms Chenery revealed to the court that Quinn has 12 previous convictions, with the last being in 2018, but there are matters of dishonesty in 1984 and 1985 for the procurement of false documents, and in 1989 for handling stolen goods.

Before mitigating for his client, John Rowan was asked by judge Ian Harris whether Quinn would be relying on ‘sceptical’ claims he made to the Probation Service regarding committing the thefts under duress.

It was said that he would not, with Judge Harris stating that it was his belief that it appeared the change in stance was in a bid to evoke sympathy from the court, and to receive a lesser sentence.

“Clearly the operation involved others much higher up than him in the chain. There were clearly people ordering the phones fraudulently,” Mr Rowan said.

“This defendant was boots on the ground, taking all the risk by taking the phones.

“He understands the offences cross the custody threshold and could lose him his liberty. There has been no further offending since he was released under investigation.”

It was said that Quinn is a man who has faced problems over the years, including his hand being completely detached in an industrial incident in 1997, before it was reattached.

On this, Judge Harris asked if this affected his dishonesty, and Mr Rowan added that his client now works as a bus driver and is assessed as posing a low risk of reconviction.

Before sentencing, Judge Harris said: “I am of the view that appropriate punishment can be achieved by a suspended sentence. There is, in your case, a reasonable prospect of rehabilitation .”

Quinn, of Bedford Road in Liverpool, was sentenced to 15 months in prison suspended for two years.

He must also undertake 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days and complete 100 hours of unpaid work in, and for the benefit of, the community.

No Proceeds of Crime Act timetable was ordered, with the court hearing that Quinn is in ‘no position to pay any money back’.