A CHEF burgled thousands of pounds of food and cooking utensils from the upmarket hotel where he had previously worked.

Jack Alexander ransacked Christchurch Harbour Hotel overnight and returned to the scene of the crime even after he had been challenged by a member of staff.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard the 31-year-old trespassed at the hotel in Mudeford on four occasions throughout the early hours on September 18 last year.

His offending saw him take a total of £1,703 of utensils belonging to two chefs as well as £718 of food.

Alexander, formerly of Nelson Drive, Christchurch, was spared immediate custody having previously pleaded guilty to non-dwelling burglar.

Prosecuting, Josh Happé said the night porter at the Christchurch Harbour Hotel caught Alexander in the corridor at around 2am. The defendant was challenged and asked to leave.

A review of the hotel's CCTV showed Alexander had entered on two previous occasions that night and could be seen leaving with black bags.

At around 2.40am, Alexander was caught red-handed by the night porter before claiming he had left his phone.

He went on to say a chef from an affiliate hotel had sent him to pick up food stuff.

Efforts were made by the porter to corroborate this claim. This led to him calling Christchurch Harbour Hotel's head chef and putting Alexander on the phone to him.

The court heard the defendant, who had been drinking that night, said he could not hear the head chef but the porter believed he was pretending.

After police were contacted, a search of Alexander's home took place and some of the stolen items were found and returned to their owners.

Mitigating, Rob Griffiths said the defendant had moved away from the Dorset area since the burglary, with him working as a chef in Wakefield.

Mr Griffiths said his client had not consumed alcohol for four and five months, adding: "He has got things in a fairly sensible place at the moment."

The defendant was willing and able to pay compensation to chefs whose equipment he had stolen, said Mr Griffiths.

Recorder Nicholas Haggan QC said it was "quite clear" that drinking alcohol led to Alexander committing offences but said the offender had "made some progress" in addressing his problems.

Alexander received a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He was ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work in the area where he now lived.

The defendant was also ordered he pay a total of £515 compensation to the two chefs, whose utensils he had taken.