Paramedic stole £100k worth of equipment from Manchester City

A paramedic has admitted stealing £100,000 worth of clothing and equipment from Manchester City to sell on eBay, with the valuable items including players' shirts and personalised boots.

David McNally, 47, exploited his role on the matchday medical team to take items from City's Etihad Stadium, which included boots belonging to the club's all-time top goalscorer Sergio Aguero.

His high-value thefts spanned a four-year period between 2019 and 2023 and happened while he was working as a North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) paramedic on match days.   

Flogging the football boots; medical equipment; and branded kits and tracksuits on eBay, he made £24,676 over several years.

He also admitted stealing valuable memorabilia - including eight signed men's first team football shirts valued at £1,000 each; a signed banner from their 2021/22 Champion's League campaign; and 'personalised football boots' made for Aguero and Aymeric Laporte.

Suspicions were aroused when one of the women's player's tracksuits went missing in February 2023. McNally was identified as a suspect following trawls of CCTV. 

Upon further investigation, club security found an eBay account belonging to McNally selling 'a number of Manchester City items' stolen over a period of four years.

Police were informed and a warrant was carried out at McNally's house. Officers found a 'large quantity' of items including holdalls, football kits, football boots and nutrition equipment.

Prosecuting, Steve Woodman said the total value of items reached nearly £100,000, including profits made from eBay. Representing McNally, Kirsty Cobey said the figure was incorrect and that the items in his house and those sold online totalled £75,000.    

McNally was a senior paramedic for 'the match day medical team', Mr Woodman said, and when the security team looked at him in more detail they realised that a number of items had been stolen over 'many years'.

'They could see items had been sold on eBay that had been stolen over previous years,' Mr Woodman said. 

Mr Woodman said the value of the items was over £75,000 but this did not include more than £24,000 worth of goods sold through eBay - so the total amount was 'just shy' of £100,000.

The court heard that McNally chose to answer 'no comment' during a police interview.

But he admitted a charge of theft when he appeared today at Manchester Magistrates Court.

Mr Woodman said aggravating factors included McNally's 'breach of trust' and the 'significant period' the thefts had spanned.

He added: 'The security team said that the items stolen included massage guns, compression pads, eight signed shirts with a value of £8,000 in total, one City banner that was used in the changing rooms in the 2021/22 Champion's League campaign, signed by the team.

'They were wondering where it had gone, and it was found at his house. There were also bespoke football boots for players such as Sergio Aguero and Aymeric Laporte.'

Ms Cobey, defending, disputed whether the stolen items totalled nearly £100,000, saying she believed the £75,000 already included items McNally had sold on eBay.

But Mr Woodman insisted the £100,000 figure was correct.

Ms Cobey described McNally as a man of good character with no previous convictions.

He had worked for NWAS for 15 years and there was no other 'blemish on his record', she said.

She added that he is someone who will have 'significant personal mitigation', although she did not go into detail.

Magistrates adjourned the case for an 'all actions report' ahead of sentencing.

Chair of the bench Matthew Ainsworth said this would include the option of sending the case to crown court for a 'greater sentence' if their sentencing powers were inadequate.

McNally, of Rossendale, Lancashire, will next appear at court on February 2, 2025.