Bank workers stole £300,000 from soccer stars accounts

A pair of crooked bank workers today admitted stealing about £300,000 (€440,000) from the accounts of three Manchester City footballers.

The duo hatched a plot to fleece the sports stars of hundreds of thousands of pounds by making withdrawals over a 15 month period, Manchester Magistrates Court was told.

With two friends who laundered the stolen cash, the pair secretly diverted funds from the accounts of Vicente Vuoso, Djamel Belmadi and Daniel Van Buyten.

Paul Sherwood, 25, of Simister Green, Prestwich, Greater Manchester, worked as a cashier at the Co-op bank in Manchester.

He masterminded the swindle and stole almost £240,000 (€348,000) from the three soccer stars.

Sherwood recruited his own boss at the branch, supervisor Paul Hanley.

Hanley, 20, of Whitworth Street, Manchester, helped Sherwood hide the theft and himself stole more than £70,000 (€101,000).