A MAN is finally set to stand trial before a jury at Greenock Sheriff Court next month – more than seven years after he is alleged to have embezzled almost £80,000 from an Inverclyde-based company.

Simon Fellows, 55, denies stealing a sum of money from PG Paper at Custom House Quay in March 2017.

He was employed by the company as a sales manager at the time of the alleged offence.

Prosecutors claim that Fellows, who lives in Wales, produced an invoice to be paid by PG Paper under a false pretence in an attempt to embezzle more than £158,000.

The charge alleged that he embezzled a total of £79,194.

Earlier this year, defence solicitor Ruth Wallace said that the case had proven to be ‘a complex matter’ and that ‘a number of unfortunate incidents’ had caused delays in holding meetings with Fellows.

It was confirmed at Greenock Sheriff Court this week that both the Crown and defence were prepared to proceed to trial on November 18.