Martin Sargeant, who was the clerk for the City Church grants committee charitable trust, stole an estimated £5.2m between January 2009 and December 2019, making multiple false applications for maintenance grants to fund his own lavish lifestyle.

Sargeant, from Bournemouth, had worked at the trust for 11 years. He was responsible for the upkeep of 33 city churches, some of which were classed as ‘dysfunctional’ and had no vicar.

He received the funds from large City developments near churches, to which he appropriated for his own gain.