A debt-ridden manager of an LGBT pub resorted to stealing customers money by smashing open the bars gaming machines.
Paul Anthony Brown was at the helm of The Oak in Middlesbrough as the business spiralled into decline and went to extreme lengths to pay his rent arrears.
He stole cash from the gambling machines – two of which were based on the Channel 4 game show, Deal or No Deal .
The 28-year-old, who also goes by the name of Paul Anthony Brown-Carruthers, then set fire to the machines after taking them back to his Billingham home in an attempt to destroy the evidence.
Brown, who was also the tenant of the pub, was jailed on Tuesday after pleading guilty to theft, fraud and criminal damage charges at Teesside Magistrates Court.
The offe…
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