A man who stole £250 from the till of a Tenby pub has been fined in court.

Twenty-four-year-old Johnathan Dewar, of Dudley, pleaded guilty to a charge of entering The Cove Inn as a trespasser and stealing the money, when he appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Prosecutor Ellie Morgan told the court that the theft occurred on June 18.

“The owner of The Cove Inn on Tenby High Street contacted the police during the early hours of the morning to state that a burglary had occurred at the premises.

“The owner’s brother who is a manager at the premises had noticed that there was no money in the till, which set alarm bells ringing, as he always left a float of £250 in the till,” explained Ms Morgan.

CCTV showed Mr. Dewar coming into the bar and helping himself to the cash in the till. Both brothers were able to identify the defendant, as he was in a relationship with one of the staff members, who also lived in a flat above the Inn.

Police seized £114 in pound coins, and various quantities of £5 and £10 notes from underneath sofa cushions where Mr. Dewar resided.

When he was arrested on suspicion of burglary and interviewed, the defendant told police officers that he was drunk and didn’t remember entering The Cove.

On being shown the CCTV evidence, Mr. Dewar said that he had no recollection of the incident, but that there was no disputing that it was him on camera. He said that he was sorry for his actions and ashamed.

Defence solicitor Mike Kelleher told the court that it was a ‘strange crime’ for a young man with no previous, and that his actions were not premeditated.

“He lived in Birmingham throughout his youth which is a much rougher area than a place like Tenby and has never been in trouble!

“He’d had far too much to drink and has no recollection of the theft. Nothing else was touched.

Mr. Kelleher said that Mr. Dewar had hand and arm injuries which must have been sustained from trying to get into his girlfriend’s flat, attributing those injuries to scaling the building from the outside.

“Mr. Dewar has already offered to reimburse the owner, but they did not accept. He has since moved back to Birmingham and got a job,” added Mr. Kelleher.

Magistrates fined Mr. Dewar £310 for the offence and ordered him to pay £250 compensation to the owner of The Cove.

He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a £31 victim surcharge.