A MAN was cleared of theft after an appeal court was told he was said to have been charged with the wrong offence.

Burnley Crown Court heard that Glen Chadwick, 45, of Grasmere Avenue, Padiham, had been convicted by magistrates of stealing more than £1,400 from a bank.

June Morris, for the Crown, told the appeal hearing Mr Chadwick was said to have obtained a cheque and had it cashed into his own bank account. He should have been charged with obtaining a money transfer.

The Crown offered no evidence.

Mr Chadwick's appeal against conviction was allowed and Judge Pamela Badley told the prosecutor to write advice about what had happened to the Crown Prosecution Service.

The judge told Mr Chadwick he was discharged and it was "as if the matter had never come to court."