A UNIVERSITY catering boss who stole more than £12,000 has been jailed for 12 months.

Preston Crown Court was told that John Adams resorted to stealing the money over a 15 month period because of financial pressure.

The court heard father-of-two Adams had two previous convictions for similar offences.

Adams, 48, of Silverdale Avenue, Heysham, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to 13 charges of theft, dating between April 9 1999 and July 17 2000 while he was employed as a catering officer at Lancaster University.

Mr Jonathon Clarke, prosecuting, told the court that as catering officer, Adams was on a salary of £30,967.

He said proceedings for bank cashing were not strictly followed.

Discrepancies between records and the amount banked were found. The total amount stolen was £12,560. Mr Clarke said Adams had two previous convictions in 1976 and 1988 for theft and false accounting. The matter in 1988 involved Adams, who then was employed as a hotel manager, stealing cash and falsifying accounts to cover it.

Mr Patrick Thompson, defending, said Adams was remorseful and ashamed. He had let himself down and his family.

His offending had had a 'lack of sophistication' and was always going to be discovered. "It was a fairly amateurish enterprise," said Mr Thompson.

Adams had committed the offences because of financial pressure and temptation had been too great for him.

Adams had not spent the money on a lavish lifestyle and he intended to use his pension to re-pay the money.

Judge Philip Sycamore told Adams his position had been seriously aggravated by his offending history which had involved a similar pattern of a breach of trust. Only a custodial sentence could be justified.