A MAN who admitted stealing from an animal sanctuary where he had volunteered for months has been jailed.
 

Sue Allery, manager of the Essex Horse and Pony Protection Society, said the actions of callous Michael Clough even caused her to consider shutting down her charity.
 

Clough, 23, of Broomfields, Pitsea began volunteering at the sanctuary in Pitsea Hall Lane, Pitsea in December last year.
 

He was given a chance by staff to learn the ropes and was even offered the chance to be supported through a college course and apprenticeship that would enable him to look after the animals full time.
 

Mrs Allery said Clough was the perfect volunteer and worked for nothing.
 

She said: “He worked five days a week for nothing and he worked his socks off.
 

“He wanted a job but he wasn’t experience enough so I told him if he waited we could get him on to an apprenticeship so he had something behind him.
 

“He never put a foot wrong and i’ve never seen anyone work like it.”
 

But Clough carried out the ultimate betrayal.
 

He was staying overnight at the sanctuary on one of the regular nighttime shifts to monitor the horses, on March 13 this year when he smashed the charity’s safe out of the wall, causing £1,000 damage.
 

He then stole the £500 cash from within and fled leaving his keys on a desk.
 

Staff from the sanctuary arrived the next morning and found the trashed office and no sign of Clough. They were frantic with worry, fearing their perfect volunteer had been beaten up by burglars.
 

However, a bigger shock was to come when police found Clough at the home of a relative and he admitted smashing the safe from the wall and stealing the cash.
 

He admitted theft and criminal damage when he appeared at Basildon Magistrates’ Court and was jailed for 12-weeks.
 

Mrs Allery said: “I just felt like you can’t trust anyone and because of that I considered closing the sanctuary down.
 

“We have so much work to do and no money to do it and with this we ended up having to spend £1,000 of our own money.
 

“What made it worse was that it was someone we knew and he had worked so hard.”