Jail for old soldier who conned his comrades

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Edward Portlock, 73, pocketed £2,228 from members who paid him the cash to cover the cost of a tour of Normandy to mark the D-day landings.

He also stole six Second World War medals, which had been given to him by a veteran to be re-ribboned.

Six more medals were taken from a display at the legion's Hardwicke branch in Gloucestershire where Portlock was vice-chairman.

When he admitted three charges of theft and four of deception last November, he was told he would be spared jail if he returned the money within six months. He failed to do so.

Sentencing Portlock at Gloucester Crown Court, Judge Martin Picton said he was guilty of an "appalling breach of trust".

He added: "I gave you a chance to avoid going to prison. You failed to meet either expectations that I stipulated.

"You failed to write to each victim and you failed to pay back the money."

He said he was handing Portlock the shortest sentence he could.

Portlock, of Gloucester, had organised the trip to Normandy for 23 veterans but cancelled it, claiming too many had pulled out.

In reality, he had spent the cash to supplement his pension and pay for repairs to his car.

Nick Fridd, defending, said Portlock had been unable to get a loan to pay back the cash because of the publicity surrounding the case and his age.

Legion members condemned the sentence as too lenient.

One, Roy Hodges, said: "He was supposed to write a letter of apology to each of us but just photocopied one letter. He's not sorry for any of it."