A former manager from the Letchworth branch of one of the UK’s largest roofing contractors has admitted to taking backhanders and fiddling with contracts to gain tens of thousands of pounds.

Dan Tomlin pleaded guilty to stealing £86,840 from Vince Hughes, who was his superior at Avonside Group Services’ Letchworth site, and fraudulently altering the terms of contracts to gain £16,000.

Stevenage magistrates heard on Monday that Tomlin had been responsible for paperwork such as invoices and accounts at Avonside’s Letchworth branch, and that the fraud took place between 2012 and 2015.

Prosecutor Shahida Parveen said the 37-year-old had arranged for money to be paid to himself directly rather than the company, and accepted backhanders from a contractor to guarantee work.

She stressed the level of trust Avonside had given him regarding its accounts, then said: “This puts it in high culpability. The Crown says this should be allocated to the crown court.”

Raj Devitt, for Tomlin, said he was of good character and had repaid the money in full.

“He has given a guilty plea from the onset,” Mr Devitt said. “He has been full and frank in his admissions.”

The bench ruled that the ‘calculated scheme over a long period of time’ was serious enough to justify passing the case to crown court for sentencing.

Tomlin, from Ely in Cambridgeshire, was bailed to appear at Cambridge Crown Court for sentence on Monday, July 4.

Mr Hughes, who watched proceedings from the public gallery, confirmed that Tomlin had paid back an amount of money specified in a confidential agreement.