A woman sacked by Lidl supermarket after being accused of theft was acquitted as a magistrate found the only witness against her was inconsistent in what he said.

Amanda Calleja, 29, was cleared after Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit had doubts on the version given by her colleague, Jonathan Bezzina, who claimed Ms Calleja had instructed him to steal the Fuji cameras.

Mr Bezzina was arraigned on the same theft, pleaded guilty and was conditionally discharged for two-and-a-half years.

The court heard the pair was at the Westin Dragonara Hotel on the night of April 27, 2012, attending a party for Lidl employees. The management had organised a lottery and, at one point, it was realised that a number of cameras among the prizes had gone missing. They were eventually found hidden under the front seat of Ms Calleja’s car where they had been taken by Mr Bezzina.

From the outset, Ms Calleja denied her involvement in the theft, insisting she had been outside smoking together with other colleagues when Mr Bezzina asked her for her car keys. She thought he wanted to get the jacket he had left there because she had given him a lift to the party. She said she therefore gave him the keys without asking why.

Colleagues who were with her corroborated her version of events but Mr Bezzina insisted in court that it was Ms Calleja who told him to take the cameras and put them in her car.

But the magistrate noted inconsistencies in his testimony, including the fact that he had admitted to having been drunk on the night but then claimed that he “clearly remembered” Ms Calleja’s instructions regarding the cameras.

He also claimed he had won a prize, which was not the case, as opposed to Ms Calleja who had won a sewing machine.

The court found that Mr Bezzina’s version could not be believed and there was no other evidence to prove her involvement in the theft.

Police Inspector Trevor Micallef prosecuted.

Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi was defence counsel.