A former bowling club treasurer in St Helens who stole more than £20,000 to fund a cruise holiday and pub trips has been handed a suspended prison sentence.
Charles McFarlane, 56, of Grafton Street in St Helens, had been treasurer of Eccleston Bowling Club for more than a decade. He defrauded the club out of a total of £20,071.90 between July 2023 and July 2025, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
Abuse of trust after arson attack
The club, a limited company, had not been open since an arson attack in March 2020 but remained active to resolve the insurance payout. Chairman Julian Cliffe was in a position to dissolve the company in 2024, which would have meant funds being distributed among the 600 shareholders.
Prosecutor Cecelia Prichard told the court on Wednesday that Mr Cliffe asked McFarlane to supply relevant statements, which he failed to do. After accessing the paperwork himself, Mr Cliffe found 12 payments had been made from the club's finances to McFarlane, totalling £15,850, ranging between £350 and £5,100.
Gambling addiction and cover-up attempt
The court heard McFarlane also made a payment of more than £4,200 to a cruise company in August 2023. He had access to the club's company card and made further payments to pubs, including in the Lake District, matching a time when he had posted on Facebook about a holiday in the area.
McFarlane had suggested all directors should resign so shareholders could claim their payment, which the prosecution said was a ploy to cover his tracks. He was arrested on March 7 after Mr Cliffe approached police. McFarlane, who had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position at his first appearance at Liverpool Magistrates' Court on October 5.
Sentencing and repayment
David Birrell, defending, said his client was under no illusions about the seriousness of the offence and carried "deep remorse and shame". He said the theft stemmed from a "botched attempt to make up his gambling losses" following the death of his parents.
The court heard McFarlane had worked as a butcher for the last 38 years, with his boss describing him as "reliable, punctual and good with the customers". He had installed anti-gambling software on his phone and made one of his daughters his power of attorney. He had agreed to pay back the full amount following the sale of his parents' house.
Sentencing, Recorder Harriet Johnson told him: "Your addiction does go some way to explain your offending but it does not excuse it." McFarlane was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, with a 12-month probation requirement, 200 hours of unpaid work, and ordered to repay the money within 24 months.
