An accountant who suffers from multiple sclerosis has been jailed after stealing more than £300,000 from his employer as a 'nest egg' for his children. Stephen Calderbank, 46, feared his children would be left penniless after he was diagnosed with the condition when his wife was also seriously ill. But his children, whose mother died last year, may now lose their family home with their father facing a proceeds of crime hearing after failing to account for most of the stolen money. Between September 2004 and January 2008, Calderbank siphoned off £310,410 from Skills Solutions, a Manchester-based, government-funded organisation providing training and apprenticeships. He was paid £35,000 a year to produce monthly management accounts and pay invoices, but made 38 separate payments to his own bank accounts over the period. His offences came to light when an internal audit revealed the money was missing. Calderbank spent at least £90,000 of the money on a family house in Nelson, Lancashire and a car, Burnley Crown Court heard. The rest of the cash was unaccounted for. He must serve two years and two months in prison.