Banker stole to buy parrots

Gardiner admitted 24 counts of theft at an earlier hearing

A financial advisor who stole £2m from customers and used the money to buy rare parrots has been jailed for nine years.

Lee Gardiner, 32, used his position at Lloyds TSB bank to move cash from elderly and vulnerable clients' accounts to his own account, and that of his partner.

Gardiner, of Minster Road, Sheerness, Kent, then spent £450,000 on exotic parrots, including palm cockatoos at £20,000 a pair.

He also bought a £450,000 bedroom house near Hever to keep his massive collection, said to be one of the biggest in the UK.

Maidstone Crown Court heard on Tuesday that Gardiner was caught when he transferred £928,000 into the account of partner Claire Richards, taking the total stolen to £2,172,432.

Fraudsters like you can only undermine the public's confidence in the banking system which these courts will not tolerate Judge Andrew Patience

Judge Andrew Patience described his conduct as "outrageous and disgraceful" and said his actions had undermined the public's confidence in banks.

At an earlier hearing Gardiner admitted 24 counts of theft from customers of Lloyds TSB in Sevenoaks, Kent, between 1999 and 2002.

He also asked for 203 similar offences to be taken into consideration.

Judge Patience said: "You targeted 38 customers of the bank who were vulnerable in one way or another, being either single or elderly, sometimes disabled, and in all cases, of a very limited financial awareness.

"That targeting illustrates a degree of calculation.

"Fraudsters like you can only undermine the public's confidence in the banking system which these courts will not tolerate."

A police spokeswoman said the birds had been sold to pay back what Gardiner stole.