Andrew Barnbrook (pictured) stole cash to pay for sessions with an £8-a-minute webcam model and has admitted fraud

An accountant for a semi-professional football club blew £250,000 of team funds on a webcam model after becoming obsessed with her.

Infatuated Andrew Barnbrook stole the money from National League side AFC Fylde to buy lavish gifts for an £8-a-minute online glamour girl.

The 37-year-old transferred cash from the Lancashire club to his personal account and also splashed out online gambling sites.

He also paid for face-to-face visits with model Victoria Sinclair after abusing his position at AFC Fylde for personal gain.

Barnbrook, from Bispham, pleaded guilty to fraud at Blackpool Magistrates' Court, which heard the club says it has no way of recovering the money.

Prosecutor Neil White said: 'The defendant was in a position of responsibility involving access to the club's accounts.

'He transferred £250,000 into his own accounts partly to fund on line gambling but the bulk of it to pay for the service of a web cam model with whom he had long interchanges.

The defendant became obsessed with this model and stole money so that he could carry on talking to her

The accountant became obsessed with Victoria Sinclair (pictured) and used cash from AFC Fyle to meet her

'He also met her face-to-face for personal visits, which he also paid for. He would buy her presents - if there was something she wanted, she got it.'

Mitigating, Leisa Stuart told the court: 'The only matters in dispute are not what he did but the period of time and the amount involved. We are awaiting the final figure.'

Barnbrook was granted unconditional bail by Blackpool magistrates who sent his case to Preston Crown Court for sentence due to the amount of money involved. He will appear at the higher court in April.

AFC Fylde chairman David Haythornthwaite said after the hearing: 'It is a very sad situation in many ways. I have built a business up from one employee in 1998 to over 300 worldwide today.

Barnbrook stole money in his role as an accountant at AFC Fylde (pictured: the stadium at which the club plays)

Barnbrook admitted fraud at Blackpool Magistrates' Court (pictured) and will be sentenced at Preston Crown Court

'Along the way you trust people to do certain things and follow certain processes. This case exposed the flaws in our systems that allowed Mr Barnbrook to take so much money without being challenged.

'It was a big wake-up call for us and unfortunately there were some internal casualties as a result of his actions.

'The sad thing is that the only person who benefited from all of this is a call girl in Manchester and someone we have absolutely no legal right to recover the money from.'

AFC Fylde, who play at Mill Farm in Wesham, currently sit fourth in the National League.