A SECURITY guard stole Gameboy games from a boy's bag found at Manchester Airport, a court heard.

Narendra Patel, aged 41, was caught hiding the games in the staff rest room at Manchester Airport after taking them out of the bag before handing it over to lost property.

When the boy's father returned from holiday to collect the bag, he found several games were missing and alerted police.

Patel, of Sandyhills, Great Lever, was immediately dismissed from his £12,000 a year job at the airport following the incident on 26 October last year.

Trafford Magistrates Court heard that Patel made a full confession. Defending Patel, Mr Harry Boodoo said: "Mr Patel had never been in trouble previously. It's a serious matter. He was a security officer and it was the most foolhardy of acts."

He added: "It was done on the spur of the moment.

The consequences have affected his standing within the community, his health and his relationship with his wife."

Magistrates ordered Patel to carry out 100 hours of a community punishment order and pay court costs of £35.