An employee at St Vincent de Paule home for the elderly was this morning taken to  court for stealing a small quantity of fruit, a loaf of bread and some butter.

The man, Emanuel Camilleri, 54, from Zabbar, who hands out food to patients at the home as part of his job, admitted the charges.

He was caught with the items on October 26 last year in a surprise inspection as he left the home and security officers checked his car.

Mr Camilleri this morning was facing a maximum of six years imprisonment because the police charged him not only with theft but also embezzlement.

Defence lawyer Stefano Filletti told Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani that this was a case where the accused stole items worth less than €10 and he had learnt his lesson.

The Magistrate having taken into consideration the minimal amount taken and his early guilty plea handed a two-year conditional discharge.