Pier manager admits selling metal from city's dock

Lee Sturgeon has been ordered to pay the council £2,000 in costs and £2,595 in compensation

A former pier manager has admitted to selling scrap metal from the dock where he worked for personal gain.

Lee Sturgeon, 50, of Arnold Avenue in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, entered a guilty plea at Southend Magistrates' Court on 3 October for fraud by abuse of representation and money laundering charges.

Southend-on-Sea City Council investigated Sturgeon, who was the former head of Southend Pier and the authority's foreshore service, after a scrap metal dealer had paid him £2,595 for a large quantity of metal in 2022.

Martin Terry, the cabinet member for community safety, said: "Fraudulent activities will not be tolerated and those who engage in such behaviour will be held accountable."

Sturgeon has been ordered to pay the council £2,000 in costs and £2,595 in compensation.

The payment from the metal dealer was not disclosed to the council and the sold resources had come from an old pier train chassis, which was part of the pier train replacement project in 2022.

Sturgeon was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

Terry said: "We are deeply saddened by the actions of Lee Sturgeon.

"His conviction for fraud and money laundering is a serious breach of the trust placed in him by the council and the residents of Southend."