THE former chief executive of Maidstone and Mid Kent Chamber of Commerce admitted a string of theft charges when he appeared before a crown court judge.

Pony-tailed William Alder, 56, pleaded guilty to 11 charges of theft between November 2001 and September 2002.

Maidstone Crown Court heard that Alder stole "debts" totalling £1,765 owed by the Maidstone and Mid Kent Chamber of Commerce and Industry to Natwest Bank.

Alder, of Spot Lane, Bearsted, near Maidstone, denied three further similar charges of theft totalling £2,063, as well as 10 offences of false accounting.

It was alleged that between December 2001 and September 20002 he either falsified monthly expenses accounting sheets by omitting the full extent of his use of the company credit card, or furnished false information in relation to the same documents.

Maidstone and Mid Kent Chamber of Commerce ceased trading in 2003 after going into the red by nearly £50,000.

At the time, president Alan Reading and other directors said that although the chamber was profitable from time to time, it was not enough to cover past debts, despite the board having done its best to overcome a financial crisis.

Alder, a former newspaper entrepreneur who set up the Milton Keynes Citizen and Aberdeen Independent, was made chief executive of the Maidstone Chamber in July 2000.

During his time in the post he set up Maidstone Enterprise Week, which was meant to become an annual event after having first taken place in 2001.

He left in September 20002 and was arrested at Heathrow Airport while returning to the UK in August last year.

Adjourning sentence for reports until July 24, Judge John MacDonald QC said: "These are not enormous sums but neither are they totally insignificant, and this was a breach of trust." Alder was released on bail.