Butler jailed after stealing £200k from household

A man who targeted his employer's "wealth and generosity" and went on the run after stealing more than £200,000 worth of jewellery and other valuables has been jailed.

Andrew Stothard, 42, who worked as a butler, houseman and valet for a household near Ramsbury in Wiltshire, pleaded guilty to theft, fraud by false representation and money laundering.

He was jailed for three-and-a-half-years at Swindon Crown Court on Monday.

Many of the items taken by Stothard, of Market Place in Hull, have since been recovered from pawnbrokers, police said.

Wiltshire Police said that on 13 September 2024 - three weeks after he was hired by the victims to live and work from their property - Stothard left in his employer's company Mercedes.

The family initially contacted police fearing for his welfare after he failed to return to the address or answer his phone.

They then noticed all his belongings, plus several high-value items such as jewellery and clothes belonging to the family, were missing, along with a credit card belonging to his employer.

Stothard travelled to London and then to Hull, using the credit card repeatedly to withdraw "thousands of pounds" in various currencies and buy expensive gold and silver coins which he then laundered in different stores.

He eventually handed himself in to a police station in Hull, denying all offences in interview and "crafting a web of lies" to explain what he had done, including claiming he was "only getting the items valued to create an inventory".

Det Con Lawrence Gurney of Wiltshire Police CID said the victims were targeted for their "wealth and generosity".

"They placed a significant amount of trust in him, and he abused this trust in a dishonest and calculated manner," he said.

"Wiltshire Police will continue in our efforts to recover the remaining items and have already sought to restrain Mr Stothard's assets for the purpose of compensation."

Police said many of the items taken have been recovered from pawnbrokers in London and Hull.

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