BANK BOSS COVERED UP pounds 20,000 LOSS.

Byline: CHLOE GRIFFITHS

A FORMER bank manager who faked records to hide the fact that almost pounds 20,000 was missing from his branch has walked free from court.

Mark Rossiter became one of the youngest bank managers in the country when he was appointed at NatWest's Childwall Fiveways branch in 2001, when he was just 23.

But Rossiter was sacked in shame six years later after it was discovered he faked cash machine records to hide the fact thousands of pounds had disappeared from the branch.

Liverpool crown court heard by September 2005, there was a shortfall in the cash machine accounts of pounds 19,730.

But Rossiter, now 31, hid the disappearance of the cash by faking the records.

His crimes went unnoticed for nearly two years, when he was due to move branches and took drastic steps to cover up the shortfall.

CCTV cameras captured Rossiter, his wife and father in the branch out of hours, removing boxes of paperwork. It was only when the new bank manager arrived that the huge deficit came to light.

John Gibson, prosecuting, said when investigators searched Rossiter's home, they found it littered with official bank documents.

Judge Charles James said: "People trust bank managers to take care of their affairs and the bank trusts them to take care of the bank's materials and money."

But he spared Rossiter, of Norville Road, Broadgreen, prison after learning there was no evidence to suggest he stole the money and only resorted to the cover-up to hide its disappearance.

He said: "Despite a very thorough investigation into your affairs, no-one has succeeded in showing you had any of the money."

Oliver Cook, defending, told how "high achiever" Rossiter made the wrong decision after discovering the hole in the bank's books.

Mr Cook said: "He found the shortfall in the ATM records and he covered it up. He admits covering it up.

"There is no evidence whatsoever he profited."

Rossiter admitted nine counts of false accounting on the day his trial was due to start.