A PE teacher and former professional footballer has spoken of his relief after being cleared of stealing £25,000 of equipment from a Maidstone school.

Father-of-three Steve Restarick, 44, was charged with theft, fraud by abuse of position and intimidation of witnesses, relating to his time as head of PE at Maidstone Grammar School (MGS).

He was accused of using the school’s resources, including photocopying paper and kit, for his business, Premier Football School (PFS).

Mr Restarick started the firm while with the Barton Road school in 2005, before turning it into a private business in 2009.

He was also alleged to have sent three people an envelope containing a psalm, a picture of Traitors’ Gate at the Tower of London and a white feather – a symbol of cowardice.

But during a two-week trial at Inner London Crown Court a jury found Mr Restarick, of Sutton Road, Maidstone, not guilty of five of six charges.

He said: “I felt absolute disbelief when I was first charged but I never thought it would go on for the best part of two-and-a-half years.

“It’s been a hard weight to carry for my family. I’ve got three young children – a 10 year-old son and twin nine-year-old daughters, who play for Maidstone United.

“I just wanted to protect them. They are very proud of my reputation and that’s been the hardest thing for me.

“What’s been keeping me going is the number of parents and current and ex-students who’ve stopped me in the street and wished me well.

“All the people I’ve worked with have been brilliant and my fiancée has been very supportive.

“This is a massive relief.”

He was found guilty of one charge of fraud relating to using school resources.

He said: “Nothing ever left the premises of MGS. The mistake I made was relying on a verbal agreement I could purchase kit and equipment via the school as they would receive an income from me. I should have insisted on a written agreement.

“I’ll take responsibility for that. I’ve got no bad feelings towards MGS, only fond memories.”

My Restarick says he paid MGS £31,000 between 2004 and 2014 in fees for running the PFS within its grounds.

He will be sentenced for the fraud charge in August.

Football star

During his ordeal Mr Restarick, who was player coach at Maidstone United from 2002 to 2003, continued to run PFS and says thousands of five to 15-year-olds have attended at five Kent locations.

He worked with Kent County Council to offer free places to looked-after children.

Mr Restarick played for West Ham’s academy as a teenager and enjoyed a professional career with Colchester United FC in the 1980s and 90s.

He got 20 national caps while studying for his teaching degree, playing in tournaments in Japan and Saudi Arabia.

It was at university he gained employment as a football coach for Charlton Athletic’s Football in the Community Programme.

He then played semi-professionally for a number of clubs including Dover Athletic and Gravesend and Northfleet before moving to Maidstone.

He left MGS for St Simon Stock Catholic School, Oakwood Park, shortly after the allegations were made and now works in a senior teaching position at a London school.

During the summer holidays he will marry his partner of 13 years, and the mother of his three children, Tanya Harrison, at Turkey Mill on Ashford Road.