PAYING back almost £100,000 is the final punishment for a former council finance officer who stole almost £250,000 from his employer.

Michael Barry used his position as an accountant at Bexley Council to claim numerous VAT refunds from Customs and Excise from 1997 to 2005.

He was responsible for the department handling VAT returns for all schools in the area and listed an extra, fictional school.

The 45-year-old kept spreadsheets with hidden cells so his fraud was undetected until the council's bank realised money was being paid into an account which had a personal account number rather than a business one.

Barry was ordered to pay Bexley Council £93,569 in compensation at a confiscation hearing at Blackfriars Crown Court on July 5.

He pleaded guilty to 10 counts of fraud at the court on March 21 last year and was sentenced to 30 months in jail.

Barry, from Whitstable, Kent, has also lost his pension because of his crimes.

Speaking after the latest hearing, the council's assistant finance director, Mike Ellsmore, said: "You could not say he had an outrageous lifestyle and he was just a fairly ordinary bloke.

"I think the confiscation of the money shows we are very determined to see the prosecution of fraud through to the end.

"We will vigorously pursue crimes against the public purse.

"It will be very difficult for him to get a job in a position of public trust again."

Barry was caught by Bexley police's CID and Financial Investigation Unit in July 2005.

Detective Inspector Michael Shelley, of Bexley CID, said: "Barry committed a serious breach of trust while in a position which should have attracted the highest standards of integrity.

"His prosecution, and the subsequent confiscation of his assets, demonstrates our commitment to preventing offenders enjoying the proceeds of their crimes."

Barry made transfers to his bank account totalling £224,631.

The money he must pay back is the total of his current assets.

Bexley Council was covered by insurance and the repaid funds will go to its insurance company.