A 45-year-old man who stole cash from his employer and fled the country in a baker's van has been given a suspended sentence.

A 45-year-old man who stole cash from his employer and fled the country in a baker's van has been given a suspended sentence.

Thomas Wegner, of Greenhills, off Aylsham Road, appeared at Norwich Crown Court charged with stealing �1,600 from his boss and taking property without consent.

The court heard Wegner stole the money from the bakery where he worked and then took the van belonging to the company, which has bakeries in Lenwade and Horsford, to continental Europe.

He admitted the crime and was given a 12-month suspended sentence and ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work.

Lori Tucker, prosecuting, said: 'He was employed by Mr Kelly who runs the bakery and there had been a dispute between them.

'Mr Kelly received a message from Wegner's wife saying she thought her husband had done a runner. Wegner had taken money from the takings and there's some suggestion he was seen removing the advertising from the van.

'He disappeared and was next discovered when he handed himself in to a police officer in Dover.'

The incident happened in July 2009. The court heard how Wegner had taken the van across to Europe but returned to England to hand himself in last October. The van had been left in Calais.

Michael Clare, in mitigation, said: 'There was a genuine dispute between the two. The point Wegner makes is that he spent more than �2,000 of his own money on fixtures and fittings. There was a misguided sense of grievance and he went about it in the wrong way.

'He has pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and surrendered himself at Dover because his wife told him the police wanted to speak to him.'