THE night manager of an upmarket hotel and nightclub has been jailed for 12 months after taking £18,000 from the till for himself.

Mark Flay, 26, of Uphall, pled guilty previously at Edinburgh Sheriff Court to embezzling the money from the city's Le Monde hotel between October 11, 2012, and March 4 last year.

Defence solicitor, Charles Morrison, handed Sheriff Paul Arthurson QC two testimonials on behalf of his client and added that the Social Work report had been favourable. Flay, he said, was prepared to pay restitution to his former employers.

Sheriff Arthurson told Flay: "You brought this upon yourself."