THE former secretary of a Blackburn social club has been jailed for two years after stealing more than £45,000 from the organisation.

Brian Johnson, 63, of New Wellington Street, Blackburn, was sentenced at Preston Crown Court after being found guilty of forgery and theft from the London Midland Railway Club, in Freckleton Street, Blackburn, between 1997 and 1998.

Detectives in charge of the case said the loses were uncovered by an accountant checking the annual figures after a number of repairs had been carried out on the club.

During a two-week trial at Preston Crown Court last month Johnson pleaded guilty to using a false instrument and forgery and was sentenced to six months.

He pleaded not guilty to another account of forgery, for which he was convicted and sentenced to 12 months, and one account of theft, for which he was sentenced to two years. The sentences will run concurrently.

Keith Harrison QC, defending, told the court it was difficult to come to an exact figure for what went missing but said it was 'not less than £45,000 and blamed the incident on 'sloppy book-keeping'. He said: "Mr Johnson would not get a prize for his book-keeping. He had a sloppy system of book-keeping and accounts.

"But it was not all disappearing through the hands of the defendant.

"There was scope for others to commit these frauds. There was an unlocked filing cabinet with a cheque book with two signatures on. Mr Johnson fell into difficulty and became a little careless over the club's money and using it from time to time.

"His wife was dying from cancer and he was looking after her.

"He had just recovered from a heart attack and had to leave his job." Mr Harrison said that the way in which Mr Johnson had committed the offence did not make him a criminal -- it was more to do with his circumstances at the time.

Judge Andrew Blake said: "This was a case involving a lot of money. A lot of money in the sense that when you became the secretary of the club in Blackburn there was a lot of savings the club had and they wanted to use these savings in the deposit account to improve the club's fabrication and building to make it a successful club.

"It was run by one man to great effect and when you took over you were responsible for the expenditure of the club and for the enormous improvements that you required that members had their trust in you.

"It is clear you misused that trust they had in you.

"It is difficult to come to the conclusion how much you had stolen from the club and that is because the prosecution started its case at £80,000. "That was reduced to £45,000 and I have come to the conclusion that though it cannot be exact it must have been in that region. What you did with it I don't know. It was over a period of time and you showed yourself to be thoroughly dishonest when you were trusted with these great sums of money.

"You took advantage of a poorly run accounting system and didn't try to improve it or ensure the club's finances were safely guarded."