Sergeant denies theft from police

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A former anti-terrorist police officer has denied 17 charges of stealing cleaning materials, including a mop and bucket from his station.

Sgt Eirwyn Pritchard, 47, of North Wales Police, appeared at Mold Crown Court after a complaint by his ex-wife.

Emma Pritchard claimed the ex-Metropolitan Police officer brought home bags of sundry items every week.

Sgt Pritchard also denies the theft of a policeman's helmet and leather utility belt. The case continues.

The court has heard claims the officer, from Old Colwyn, Conwy, stole over a three-year period, when based at Llangefni and later at Holyhead port, on Anglesey, as he had access to a store at Gwalchmai police station where cleaning materials were kept.

The jury has heard officers went to his former matrimonial home in April last year after a formal complaint by his former wife.

They found a policeman's helmet, cleaning wipes, air fresheners, washing-up liquid, oven spray, batteries, toilet cleaning blocks, multi-purpose polish, a cream cleaner, three mop heads, a pack of toilet rolls, two electricity time controls, a mop and bucket, a glass cleaner, and three sponge cloths.

'Vindictive determination'

In evidence on Tuesday, mother-of-four Mrs Pritchard, from Llandudno, said as soon as her husband moved in with her he would return with bags of cleaning and other materials every three days or so.

She said: "I did not buy washing-up liquid for four years."

Simon Rogers, prosecuting, told the court the brands of some of the items seized by police at the defendant's home were not available for sale to the general public.

They were, he said, trade brands, available on a wholesale trade basis and it was no coincidence that they were the same brands purchased by North Wales Police for their cleaning and other staff.

The Pritchards were married in September 2003 and divorced towards the end of 2007.

Mrs Pritchard, under cross-examination by Roderick Priestly, defending, denied she had "a vindictive determination" behind a pattern of allegations of escalating seriousness designed to ruin her ex-husband's career.

Emma Pritchard sent abusive texts to her ex-husband

She agreed that after the couple had separated she had written to the Inland Revenue pretending to be her husband, falsely saying he had not paid any tax.

The court heard she had left a box of ashes on his doorstep containing burnt Christmas presents and wedding photographs.

Mrs Pritchard, who the court heard lives in a six-bedroom house signed over to her by the defendant, said that she could not remember ringing the police.

The defence said they had a recording of her making the call to the police from her mobile telephone to say that he was drink-driving. The test proved negative.

The jury heard Mrs Pritchard also sent abusive text messages to her ex-husband including one which said "just die so that I can dance on your grave".

Another text read "well I have got a big surprise for you" a short time before she made her formal complaint to the police.

She agreed she been ordered to repay £7,000 in benefits which she had claimed as a single mother at a time she was married to her previous husband, Geraint Williams.

The trial heard that Sgt Pritchard, in his police interview about the policeman's helmet and utility belt, said that he had taken the helmet home so that the couple's baby daughter could be photographed inside it.

He said he then forgot about it. He said he knew nothing about the utility belt.