Official stole from Church and choir

A former senior worker in the Isle of Man's finance industry has begun a 20-month jail term, for stealing more than £40,000 from the Church of England and a top Manx choir.

Thirty-nine-year-old Mark Pilkington, a compliance officer at Royal Skandia until his arrest, was convicted this week of eleven charges of false accounting and obtaining money by deception.

At his sentencing, the court was told Pilkington had abused his positions on the finance board of the diocese of Sodor and Man, and as treasurer of the Manx Festival Chorus.

Pilkington, from Port Erin, admitted writing cheques to himself from the choir's bank account, submitting false end-of-year reports and transferring diocese funds to his own account.

Diocese spokesman Reverend John Coldwell says it's been a very troubling case: