The former chef of a pub in St Davids is now cooking for prisoners after being convicted of a mini crime spree.

James Simpson’s offending included breaking into the Bishops pub where he used to work. He cleaned out the safe and loaded a huge quantity of cigarettes and spirits into a Transit van he had also stolen.

Simpson, who was staying with his father in Britannia Drive, Pembroke Dock, at the time, was jailed for two years by Judge Christopher Vosper at Swansea Crown Court.

The court heard that the house was rented from Sean Roberts, who worked for Pembrokeshire County Council and was allowed to use a council Transit van.

Simpson stole a birth certificate, bank statements and payslips belonging to Mr Roberts and used them to obtain a mobile phone which he sold within hours.

He also withdrew £1,300 from Mr Roberts’ bank accounts and managed to take out a loan from the Cheque Centre, Haverfordwest, in Mr Roberts’ name.

On August 13th last year he took the Transit van without authority and drove – while banned – to St Davids where he broke into the Bishops through a skylight.

He got away with up to £5,000 from the safe. Two days later he spent £600 of the haul on buying a car, and was convicted of acquiring criminal property.

Detectives were able to identify the van by viewing coverage from roadside cameras.

And masts revealed the movements of Roberts’ mobile phone.

The court heard that Simpson, from Forfar in Scotland, had been remanded to jail awaiting sentencing and was already using his skills in the prison kitchens.

Judge Vosper said he accepted that Simpson had not been employed at the Bishops at the time but his offending still represented a breach of trust because he had used his knowledge of the premises to get in and to open the safe.

Simpson was also banned from driving for five years.