A TREASURER emailed his employer admitting to stealing more than £8,000.

Stephen Anthony Holt had been the treasurer of The Welsh Field Archery Association, Llandeilo, for less than two months before he began stealing money from the body.

Over the course of a year, from January 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017, Holt, of Beidr Non, Llannon stole a total of £8321.68 from his employer.

In February, the 50-year-old sent an email to the President, Vice President and Secretary of the association, telling them he had been he had been taking money.

Holt pleaded guilty to the theft when he appeared at Llanelli magistrates’ court last week.

Prosecutor Helen Edwards said: “He was the treasurer for The Welsh Field Archery Association and got the job in November 2015.

“In February, he emailed the President, Vice President and Secretary of the club saying he had been taking money as a means of getting by.

“This was a prolonged breach of trust.”

Holt’s solicitor, David Elvy, said he had initially intended to pay the money back but ‘it got beyond the point of return.’

Mr Elvy said: “He was consumed by guilt and expressed his remorse in the email.

“He understands this was a huge breach of trust.

“He simply took the money; he didn’t disguise what he was doing

“He knew someone would have discovered what he had been doing if he hadn’t told them.”

The Welsh Field Archery Association released a statement in March stating: “We regret to inform our membership that the WFAA has been subject to a theft of our funds.

“It has come to our attention that funds have been stolen from the WFAA’s reserve funds by our Treasurer, Stephen Holt.

“The General Committee has acted immediately to mitigate the challenges that this situation presents to us.

“The Treasurer has been dismissed from post.

“An emergency budget has also been drawn up to navigate the WFAA through the remainder of 2017.

“We want to assure you that although there will be adjustments to the services we provide, we have sufficient funds to enable the WFAA to continue operating largely as normal.

“All shoots and tournaments will go ahead as scheduled and activities such as Squad training will continue as planned. It is therefore business as usual.

“We also want to assure our members that we are actively working to rectify this situation.”

Holt has been released on unconditional bail until his sentencing at Swansea crown court on September 29.