A warehouse worker today faced an anxious wait to learn his fate after he was found guilty of helping steal about £300,000 of goods from his employer.

Jason Brock, 27, stood silent in the dock as the jury foreman delivered a majority verdict of 10-1 at Southend Crown Court. The six women and five men deliberated for five hours before convicting the dad-of-two with conspiracy to steal.

Brock, of Dolphin Gardens, Billericay, was granted unconditional bail and will be sentenced at Basildon Crown Court in four weeks time.

He was arrested at his workplace, Co-Op Retail Service's Laindon Warehouse at Southfields Industrial Estate on January 9 1998.

Brock was then taken to Basildon Police station where he was interviewed and confessed to taking part in the theft.

He told police that he had received about £400 for his part in the scam which took place throughout 1997.

Brock denied the charge throughout the four-day trial and told the court that he had lied to police during his interview because he was in a rush to see his father in hospital.

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