A 47-year-old man appeared before Burnley magistrates, accused of a £10,000 fraud.

Steven Sumner is alleged to have committed three offences while working as a self-employed agent for S D Taylor Ltd, trading as Loans At Home For You, in Bacup.

Sumner is accused of two counts of fraud by abuse of position, one on or between August 2012 and April 2013, when it is alleged he falsely recorded payments made to S D Taylor for himself, and the other on or between December 2012 and April 2013, when it is said he purported to have made 29 loan agreements with customers who had not agreed to them, totalling £9,475, for himself.

Sumner is also accused of false accounting, on or between April 1 and 10 last year, when it is said he recorded he had collected money from customers of S D Taylor which he had not.

Sumner, of Lyddesdale Avenue, Thornton-Cleveleys, did not indicate pleas, and his case was adjourned.