UK COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM OFFICECEN News : Newmarket : Man denies stealing IT equipmentMan denies stealing IT equipment

COMPUTER equipment was stolen from a busy office - and sold on an internet auction site, a court heard.

Dean Wickers is alleged to have made about £1,500 by selling items belonging to his employer.

The 25-year-old denies stealing cable management systems and deskmounted flat-screen monitor arms, worth about £2,000, from Workspace Office Solutions, of Hamlet Green, Haverhill.

Hugh Vass, prosecuting, told Ipswich Crown Court Wickers was selling the items on eBay under the name Spike 05. But he said Wickers, of Old Rope Walk, Haverhill, was discovered when area manager Shane Baker went on the internet and found them for sale.

Mr Vass said: "He had made something like £1,500 off the items he had taken. He said they were rubbish which was going to be thrown out."

Jurors heard Wickers had previously asked permission to take scrap plywood, but the monitor arms were in wrapping.

Mr Vass said: "Surely he would have asked a member of staff."

He said the full value of the stolen computer equipment was about £2,000.

He said Wickers had advertised it on eBay as "brand new" and made about £1,500 from the sales.

Mr Vass said: "If you are describing them like that in eBay, they must be in a fairly good condition or you would not be able to make that claim."

Mr Vass said Wickers had a previous conviction for theft from an employer in 1997, when he was 17.

Giving evidence, Wickers said the items were damaged and he cleaned them up before advertising them on the internet side. He said the items were in an area designated for the skip which is why he believed them to be abandoned.

The trial continues