POLICE have been called in to investigate alleged thefts from loss-making Maidstone and Mid Kent Chamber of Commerce.

It follows three weeks of turmoil for the chamber. On September 20 chief executive Bill Alder suddenly resigned. His whereabouts are unknown.

This week, chairman Bryan Godwin resigned after only six months in the job. Mr Godwin stepped down after learning about alleged irregularities in the chamber’s books. He said it was unacceptable for him as chairman to have been unaware of them.

Alan Reading, who took over the chairman’s role after Mr Godwin quit, said: “There are a number of small alleged thefts that we have questions about and the directors have decided to call in the police to make further investigations.”

Mr Godwin resigned on Monday evening minutes before an emergency board meeting to discuss the findings of a financial probe ordered after Mr Alder’s departure. Accountants from Maidstone firm Dendy Neville found a number of problems that warranted further inquiry.

Mr Godwin said: “It was the disclosure of things that have come about in the last few weeks that I was not totally aware of before and I felt I ought to have been. As chairman, I should have been aware of everything.”

Alan Reading admitted this week that the chamber was heading for a five-figure deficit for the financial year ending in March.

Mr Alder, 52, a former publishing entrepreneur, founded the Milton Keynes Citizen and the Aberdeen Independent, both successful free newspapers.

Meanwhile, the chamber is to appoint a new chief executive.