A NETWORK Rail worker lost his job after taking a company vehicle from the Ely depot without permission. And on Thursday Bryan Machin was fined �100 by city magistrates, and was ordered to pay �60 costs and a �15 surcharge after admitting the offence. The

A NETWORK Rail worker lost his job after taking a company vehicle from the Ely depot without permission.

And on Thursday Bryan Machin was fined �100 by city magistrates, and was ordered to pay �60 costs and a �15 surcharge after admitting the offence.

The 41-year-old production officer, of Fulbridge Road, Peterborough, took the vehicle on May 4. He was seen on CCTV as he moved among vehicles, and then went into a temporary building to collect a key before driving off.

Mitigating, Julie Murtagh said it was usual for members of staff to use a van if they were on call, or working an early shift.

Machin had been due to work the day after he took the van from the Ely depot. But he could not face work, so he dropped the van at a Network Rail depot in Whittlesey.

She said Machin had suffered something like a nervous break down; he had made a serious suicide attempt, and had "lost the plot.