The treasurer of a Wales-wide sporting group helped himself to more than £8,000 of its cash to pay household bills, a court has heard.

Former sailor Stephen Holt was in charge of the finances for the Welsh Field Archery Association, giving him access to its account and online banking facilities.

But Swansea Crown Court heard that over the course of 12 months he abused that position, pilfering from the association.

Rhys Thomas, prosecuting, said Holt took-on the role of treasurer in November 2015, a job which gave him the power to write cheques and to make electronic transfers.

During the following 12 months he stole some £8,321.68 from the organisation.

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The thefts came to light in January this year - the association decided to hold a routine audit of its finances, and Holt confessed to the other committee members what he had done, writing a letter to them explaining what he had done and saying he had intended to pay the money back.

Holt, aged 50, of Beidr Non, Llannon, in the Gwendraeth Valley, had previously pleaded guilty to theft by an employee when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

The court heard the loss of money had left the association in a serious financial position - it has had to withdrawn funding from events around Wales, and cannot pay for the up-keep of equipment.

The court heard Holt had two previous convictions for theft by an employee which involved taking tax discs from company vehicles, and putting them on his own.

Holt was unrepresented in court - when asked by the judge why that was, the defendant said he was refused legal aid funding, and could not afford to pay for a barrister himself.

Addressing the judge he said he had worked for the Hampshire Fire Service until moving to South West Wales with wife three years ago, but the job situation in Carmarthenshire was not good compared to the one he had left.

The dad-of-two said he had worked for a time for Save Britain Money - the Swansea firm featured in the reality TV series The Call Centre - which he described as “not a very nice job”, and said the family increasingly found themselves struggling financially.

He said the money he had taken had been used to pay household bills and “not to live the high life”, and he wanted to pay it back - he said in five years times would have access to his Royal Navy pension which would help him to do that.

Judge Geraint Walters said there was “something rather mean” about stealing from an organisation which relied on volunteers, and he said Holt’s thefts had left the association in a precarious position.

He sentenced Holt to eight months in prison suspended for two years, and ordered him to complete 100 hours of unpaid work, and to pay back the cash he had stolen at a rate of £75 per month.