Conman gets six years

Police have praised The Publican for its role in the capture of a conman who cheated licensees out of thousands of pounds.

Ben Saint James was caught at the White Horse pub in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Cleveland, after licensee David Craven saw his picture in The Publican, eight months after Avon and Somerset police launched a manhunt.

He had been targeting small village pubs with accommodation, booking a number of rooms for months at a time and building up huge bar tabs using stolen chequebooks.

Once he won the confidence of the owner he burgled the premises and used the owner's identity to dupe his next victim.

St James, 48, also known as David Brown, admitted 11 charges of theft and fraudulent use of a cheque book and was given a six-year prison sentence when he appeared at Bristol Crown Court on September 24.

He asked for a further 120 offences of a similar nature to be taken into consideration, including theft from the Red Admiral pub in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, and making out a fake cheque for more than £200 at the Port Cullis Hotel in Horse Street, Chipping Sodbury.

Mr Craven said: "He seemed very genuine and I would have believed him but I recognized him from the picture and phoned the police. I've only been at the pub a year so it was all quite lucky."

Detective Sergeant Dave Trotter of Avon and Somerset Police, said: "Without The Publican's work on this it wouldn't have happened, we owe it a big thanks because there's no doubt the man was caught because of its story."

In sentencing Saint James, Recorder Barry Cotter said he had committed similar offences since the 1970s, serving several prison terms for deception and theft, and that he was "a parasite" who preyed on pub landlords.

He said: "You have been persistently dishonest on a truly impressive scale. You were intent on stealing or deceiving, regardless of the impact on members of the public. You preyed on the good nature, sympathy and trust of those in the public house business."

Simon Morgan, defending said: "He has been an alcoholic since he was 17 and as a consequence spent a significant amount of time in prison and drifting."