A CATHOLIC priest has been jailed for 10 months after pleading guilty to embezzling almost £100,000 from church funds.

Father Graeme Bell was convicted of stealing from this Ayrshire parish between March and May 2015 after admitting to an online gambling problem.

The priest was told that only for background reports and his guilty plea he would have faced a sentence of between two and four years.

Father Bell, 41, had been parish priest at Our Lady Star of the Sea church, known locally as St Mary’s, in Saltcoats.

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Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard how Father Nolan's diocese was able to claim £30,000 through its insurance, while friends and family of the jailed priest raised a further £47,000.

The Diocese of Galloway made up the rest of the missing £96,000.

Sheriff Alistair Watson also heard how Father Bell had been seeking counselling and attending Gamblers' Anonymous to seek help with his problem.

The Sheriff told the priest this reduced his tariff to 15 months, which was brought down further because of his guilty plea.

With the case now having concluded in the civil courts Father Bell is likely to face further sanctions as the case goes through a church tribunal once released from prison.

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But one local Catholic said: "Some members of the community wanted a much longer sentence than this. There's still a lot of anger. Graeme Bell should now resign from the church instead of still leaving his bishop with a responsibility for him. It's the right and decent thing to do."

A spokesman for the Diocese of Galloway said: "This is a sad day for the Diocese of Galloway as, Father Graeme Bell, is sentenced. However, given amounts involved it is not surprising that he has received a custodial sentence and we hope that in prison he will continue to receive the support that he needs and which the diocese has offered him over the past year.

"This has been a very difficult year for the parishioners of St Mary’s Saltcoats. Unfortunately, until the case went to Court, the Diocese was not able to make any comment nor correct some of the erroneous speculation which followed.

"Now that the case has concluded, Bishop Nolan will be meeting with the parish council of St Mary’s on Thursday 16 June and will celebrate Mass in the parish on the weekend of July 8th and 9th.

"Bishop Nolan wishes to express his gratitude to the parishioners of St Mary’s and St John’s in Stevenston, for their patience and fortitude during these very difficult months and to Canon Martin Poland for looking after St Mary’s Saltcoats."

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Father Bell confessed to an online gambling addiction when confronted with the matter last year when the missing funds came to light.

The probe had initially centred on funds set up for pilgrimages to Lourdes and missionary work in Guyana but was quickly widened out to look at all parish finances.

Father Bell had been due to effectively leave the church for unrelated reasons, understood to be connected to his family, days before his arrest.

A number of parishioners had contacted their new Bishop William Nolan’s office in the weeks leading up to Father Bell’s arrest with their concerns, with at least one notifying the police.

The spokesman added: "When Father Bell first revealed to the Diocese that he had misused parish funds for gambling, he was removed from his post and the police were informed. Contrary to some speculation, he had not been under investigation for financial irregularities prior to that, nor were the monies involved from any other funds than from the parish.

"With the conclusion of the Court Case, a Church Tribunal will now investigate Father Bell’s conduct. Since Father Bell used to work at the Tribunal in Scotland, Bishop Nolan will ask the Holy See to appoint a Tribunal in England or Ireland to carry out this investigation.

"The sentence that Fr Bell faces and the publicity his conduct and failings have received will be a challenge to him. We pray, that with God’s help, this low point in his life may become a time of personal and spiritual renewal."

A specialist in canon law, Father Bell had a national profile on the Catholic church’s national body which deals with disputes between priests and their bishops as well as marriage annulments.