A HARROGATE hotel manager who turned fraudster was caught thanks to a "whistle blower", a court heard.

Andrew John Sillars, 50, of Chapel Allerton, Leeds, was jailed for 12 months at York Crown Court yesterday after admitting theft from the White Hart Hotel in Cold Bath Road, then owned by the Regional Health Authority.

The prosecution said this represented a personal benefit of £40,000.

Mushtaq Khokhar, prosecuting, said the offences dated back to 1995 and were investigated in 1999 as a result of "whistle blowing" by a staff member three years after the hotel was bought by the University of York.

Mr Khokhar said Sillars, who began working at the hotel in 1993, played a vital role in a major refurbishment and as manager was solely responsible for its finances. When its conference trade waned, Sillars built up a base of private clients, and it became obvious to someone he worked with that he was paying cheques into a bank account he originally set up for staff tips.

At one stage Sillars ordered the destruction of records, except for one year, and hoped the fraud would never be discovered.

After the suspicious employee brought certain earlier discrepancies to light, the manager was suspended and later resigned. The university discovered that money belonging to the health service was paid into the Sillars' "tip" account.

Mr Khokar added that Sillars had admitted the offences, saying he had brought shame on his family.

Brian Stuart, for Sillars, said he had repaid the £40,000 he stole by selling the family home.

There had been no hint of offending since 1996 and Sillars had done everything he could to assist the police.

Judge Paul Hoffman told Sillars: "You started off exceeding your authority and then lined your own pockets. You put that money into holidays, fine wines and investments."

Updated: 10:36 Saturday, April 07, 2001