Coroner who admitted stealing £2m from the estates of dead clients facing prison Former Gloucestershire coroner Alan Crickmore was first arrested in 2011 57-year-old stole money in 'frenzied attempt' to balance books at law firm Admits 16 counts of theft, seven of fraud by position abuse and one fraud Shamed: Alan Crickmore (pictured leaving Southwark Crown Court today) was suspended from practising as a solicitor in December 2010 One of Britain's longest serving coroners was today facing jail after he admitted plundering £2million from the estates of the dead. Alan Crickmore, 57, of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, stole the money in a 'frenzied attempt' to balance the books at his law firm. He was first arrested in January 2011 after a probe into irregularities at his practice by police, who had only found out about the allegations following a report in a local newspaper. The former Gloucestershire coroner admitted 16 counts of theft, seven of fraud by abuse of position and one of fraud between 1999 and 2011 at Southwark Crown Court in London. After a career spanning 30 years, he was suspended from practising as a solicitor in December 2010, and shortly afterwards ceased acting in his role as coroner of Gloucestershire. Since his suspension he is still being paid a £60,000-a-year salary by his firm, it emerged. Crickmore became Gloucester deputy coroner in 1990, took over as the city coroner in 2002, and three years later was coroner for the Cotswolds. He then combined the two jobs to become the first coroner to cover all of Gloucestershire. He also deceived trustees who were clueless about financial matters, the court heard today. He embarked on an "absolutely chronic" campaign of deceit from 1999 to 2011. Crickmore even took out a bogus mortgage on a property in Stiffkey, Norfolk, after he was ordered to repay £212,000 he stole from trustee Judith Lorman following a high court judgement. Dressed in a grey suit, white shirt and purple tie, Crickmore appeared to be close to tears as he admitted 16 counts of theft, seven counts of fraud by abuse of position and a further count of fraud. Hearing: Crickmore admitted 16 counts of theft, seven of fraud by abuse of position and one of fraud between 1999 and 2011 at Southwark Crown Court (pictured) in Central London Mark Fenhalls, prosecuting, said: "Mr Crickmore is a 57-year-old man who qualified as a solicitor in the 1980s and has been in practice in Gloucester since 1992. He stole in various different ways about £2million from clients. All of the money was stolen from clients either from their estates if they died or clients who were unable to understand. Crickmore plundered the estates of the late Kenneth Layton Goodwin, Josef Dziuma, Elizabeth Iles and Peter Mitchell. He also conned Mrs Lorman and her son, Simon, as well as Claire Wilson and Sylvia Jones. Edward Henry, defending Crickmore, said he had been "in a trap of his own making for years," resulting in a significant effect on his mental and physical health. He became a fraud to himself before he became a conman, I regret to submit, to his clients. He embarked on a frenzied attempt to balance the books and this was absolutely chronic over a period of over a decade. He has a significant history of depression and is completely broken by this. He was made bankrupt in 2011 and discharged from bankruptcy in 2012 only because all of his assets were restrained for the purposes of confiscation. He comes before the court abjectly devoid of funds. He became a fraud to himself before he became a conman. He has a significant history of depression and is completely broken by this Edward Henry, defending Adjourning sentence for reports, Judge Anthony Leonard QC told Crickmore: "You have pleaded guilty to serious offences and you know what the inevitable result of that will be. There is only one potential outcome, that is a sentence of imprisonment. Crickmore, of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was bailed and electronically tagged ahead of a sentencing hearing on November 28. He denied a further count of fraud by abuse of position which was left on the court file. Detective Chief Inspector Dave Sellwood of Gloucestershire Constabulary said: "This has been a meticulous and thorough two year investigation by Gloucestershire Constabulary that followed an investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. We are pleased that now, having been faced with overwhelming evidence, Mr Crickmore has acknowledged his guilt to 24 of the 25 charges put to him. We will now await sentencing on Thursday 28th November.