A DELIVERY driver from Wirral who repeatedly stole from parcels tried to claim he had been set up because he was new.

A court heard that there had been suspicions from the very day Stephen Hacking began his duties as an agency driver for Parcel Force.

Louise McCloskey, prosecuting, said: "From the first day of his duties there were issues in relation to missing parcels on his route".

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Hacking, who had been taken on as driver over Christmas 2015, stole items totalling £844.

Imposing a ten month jail sentence suspended for 12 months, Judge Neil Flewitt, QC said: "What you did was an appalling breach in trust not only to your employers but members of the public using the service."

Hacking had maintained his innocence when re-interviewed but on the day he was due to face trial he admitted his guilt.

The judge pointed out that he could have got matters "over and done with over two years ago" if he had admitted what he had done and not "racked up" prosecution costs of more than £10,000.

The court was told that he did not have the means to repay the costs and would need to re-mortgage the matrimonial home to meet them.

Judge Flewitt ordered him to pay £9,252 costs within six months and attend a thinking skills programme.

He also imposed a curfew between 8-6am until the end of July.

Miss McCloskey had told the court that Hacking began delivering parcels on December 8, 2015 from the depot in Huyton.

Two days later he was to deliver a mobile phone but the customer was out.

He claimed they had signed for the package, but the customer revealed that it was not his signature.

On December 22, Hacking returned to the depot with 12 undelivered items, of which at least five had been opened and attempts made to reseal them.

The same day packages of shoes and a box of wine was allocated to be delivered by him. They did not arrive nor were they returned to the depot.

The next day his parcels were checked and it was found that four had not been scanned onto his route and three containing watches and perfume were not brought back.

When interviewed by police he claimed items appeared to have gone missing "when he had left the van open" and went on to claim someone must have set him up as he was new to the job.

Hacking, 39, from Cobham Road in Moreton, pleaded guilty to three theft offences and one of opening postal packages.

Charles Lander, defending, said Hacking, who wept in the dock, wanted to "repay society" and was described by his wife in a statement as a "supporting, caring, understanding and thoughtful person."

He said that Hacking, described as "a fantastic father" to his two children, had to face public shame about his behaviour.

Following a road traffic accident he has been suffering from sciatica and has been unable to work.