A WORKER at a video games retailer in Basingstoke was caught trying to steal a company smart phone.

Michael Ramsingh, also known as Michael Nurse, was caught trying to leave the headquarters of GAME Digital, in Telford Road, with an iPhone 5, Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court heard.

The 60-year-old set off a scanner that all employees have to walk through when they leave the building, David Fosler, prosecuting, said.

“He tried to go back to his desk,” Mr Fosler added, “but the iPhone was found and the police were notified according to the company’s zero tolerance policy.

“Police then searched his home and found another iPhone. There’s no direct evidence that Ramsingh took that phone from GAME but he said he knew it had been stolen from there when he bought it from a friend.”

Ramsingh, of Keats Close, Popley, pleaded guilty to one charge of theft by employee, and one of handling stolen goods, at the hearing at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

Harriet Parker, defending, said Ramsingh, a father-of-three, lost his job as a result of the theft and has been unable to get one since.

She added: “He is very remorseful and ashamed about what he has done.”

Presiding magistrate David Smith fined Ramsingh £110 for each offence, with a £20 victim surcharge and £85 costs.