A TALENTED musician has been jailed for six months after brazenly stealing thousands of pounds from the till of a charity-run York attraction.

James Alexander Topi was sentenced at York Crown Court after admitting 17 charges of theft, amounting to £6,675, while working on the visitor reception at the Castle Museum in 2006.

Judge Stephen Ashurst condemned his actions as "manipulative and dishonest". He said his breach of trust had outraged his colleagues and had been at the expense of York Museums Trust, which operates the attraction.

Tim Stead, prosecuting, said Topi, 30, of Garland Street, York, had printed separate copies of till receipts after a transaction had been completed, and then presented them to other customers, pocketing their cash. Mr Stead said Topi also carried out a refund from the till or voided a previous transaction.

He was caught after a colleague witnessed him printing copied receipts. Too much money was then found in the till compared to the entry receipts, and copies of receipts were later found.

John Boumphrey, mitigating, said Topi "just cracked" in the face of "significant financial difficulties".

He had been DJ-ing for cash-in-hand payment and worked for a company that went bankrupt, leaving him without an income. At the same time, a number of his flatmates moved out, leaving him to pay the bills.

One day, Topi needed a £10 taxi fare and took it from the till at the Castle Museum, where he was working on a seasonal basis, said Mr Boumphrey.

He said: "That behaviour got out of hand. It took time for him to be caught but he knew it would eventually happen. CCTV cameras were observing his activities."

He said he was "shamed" and had offered to pay back the cash. Mr Boumphrey said there was a relatively low risk of future offending.

"The losses have not been so substantial as to be crippling to an organisation he holds very dearly," he said.

After reading pre-sentence reports and testimonials, Judge Ashurst said: "You are a talented man. You have many loyal friends."

However, he said he had a "manipulative and dishonest" side.

In 1995 Topi received a 118-hour community service order for conspiracy to defraud after producing bogus British Rail travel cards.

Judge Ashurst said some of Topi's friends felt sympathy, while others felt let down by his breach of trust.

He said: "The museum is run by a charity. It does not have a bottomless pit of money. Honest members of staff are rightly outraged by your behaviour. I am satisfied this would have gone on unabated because you realised just how easy it was to steal."

Topi received six months in jail for each offence, to be served concurrently.

A York Museums Trust spokesman said: "We are glad the matter has come to a conclusion."