A former Gedling Borough Council accountant who stole almost £1 million from the authority over 20 years appeared “a decent guy” and “a typical accountant”, shocked former colleagues have said.

Alan Doig, 57, diverted the public money to his account to fund his gambling addiction.

The Senior Assistant Accountant, of Bedale Road, Daybrook, is starting a five-year prison sentence after he admitted the fraud.

He was sent to prison at a sentencing hearing as the case concluded at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday (2).

A Nottinghamshire Police investigation had identified 86 fraudulent transactions, totalling £934,343.30.

Doig was able to generate council invoices, and used his expert insider knowledge to make small, regular payments to himself over the two decades.

His fraud was only discovered in 2021 when new regulations and post-Covid ways of working required him to change his methods, making colleagues suspicious.

Gedling Borough Councillors told the Local Democracy Reporting Service they are still in shock over the scale of the fraud, and never suspected Doig, who came across as the everyday ‘decent’ council employee.

Councillor Helen Greensmith (Con), who is herself a chartered accountant, worked with Mr Doig through the council’s audit committee and said he came across as “very secretive and quiet”.

“I was shocked beyond belief, I couldn’t believe that anyone in that position could have brought himself to do it,” she said.

“Residents will certainly have questions about how it could happen – £1 million could have made a big difference.”

Councillor Jim Creamer (Lab) said: “When I dealt with him, he seemed like a decent guy – just an ordinary person. I suppose that’s how he got away with it.

“It was a big shock to everyone – politicians and staff. I hope the public keep their trust in the council. When you’ve lost trust, it’s hard to get it back.”

Councillor Boyd Elliott (Con) said: “He just seemed unassuming, a normal suit – your typical accountant. He would say ‘hello’ whenever he saw you.

“It just shows you never know what’s going on in someone’s head.

“Councillors were told quite a while ago, but we couldn’t say anything in case it affected the verdict of the trial.

“It’s really important we have strong scrutiny to make sure this doesn’t happen again – this is public money, and the last thing we want to do is lose their confidence.

“We’ve not had a proper council meeting since the sentencing, so I imagine it will be the elephant in the room when we do.”

Councillor Andrew Ellwood (Lib Dem) said: “It was a shock to us all, everyone was surprised.

“I’m happy with the changes that have been made, and hopefully we’re at a point where this can’t happen again.”

Doig was pleaded guilty to obtaining a money transfer by deception and fraud by abuse of position.

The council says Doig was able to avoid detection for so long because he knew what internal and external auditors would look for to spot fraud.

Chief Executive Mike Hill said: “Our organisation is in shock that we are the victims of a crime carried out by a long-serving employee, who was in position of trust, and who abused the system to commit fraud on such a scale.

“This was a criminal act and the sentencing reflects the crime and we believe that justice has been served.

“Only someone with key insider knowledge could have done this, and we would not have been able to prevent this from happening. We had numerous checks and controls in place, we were subjected to regular and thorough audits of processes and procedures.

“It was only when legislation changes came in that required new checks, as well as his changes in behaviour, that the fraud was found.

“We are confident that this was an isolated incident by a man with a serious problem. He stole public money, which could have been used to pay for essential services and we want to reassure the public that the money will be recuperated in full, and we have new systems in place to prevent this from happening in the future.

“We have a zero tolerance approach to fraud and all of our staff are aware of this.”

At his sentencing hearing, Doig’s defence counsel said he felt “truly embarrassed and ashamed” of his actions, adding gambling had led him down a “long and dark path”.

A Proceeds of Crime hearing will take place at a later date to determine how much Doig will have to repay.