A CHEF at a wedding reception tried to make off with nearly £100-worth of alcohol and assaulted his boss when he confronted him, a court was told.

Ian John Carson, 45, of Beverly Road, Littlemoor, Weymouth, admitted stealing several bottles of alcohol from Minterne House, near Dorchester, on June 23 and assaulting Toby Albu.

Tim Clark, prosecuting, told Weymouth Magistrates Court that Carson was a chef employed by catering company Feast, which was providing the catering for the reception.

Mr Clark said Carson had a drink problem and had turned up for work with a hangover.

He was shown into a storeroom to get changed and that was where he discovered the alcohol.

Mr Clark said: "He thought no one would notice if he had a few swigs of port.

"He drank about half a bottle. He had also taken a Coke bottle to work that contained vodka and Coke."

Carson claimed he remembered working until the starters were taken out and has no further memories of what happened.

Mr Clark said that Carson tried to steal two bottles of port, three bottles of champagne, one of red wine, one of rosé and two bottles of lager, at a total value of £97.40.

The drink belonged to Lord Henry Digby.

Mr Clark said: "The alcohol had been taken from Lord Digby's personal stock that was kept in a pantry in the manor house."

He added: "When Mr Albu challenged him Mr Carson became aggressive and punched him to the head.

"He also put his arm around Mr Albu's neck and pulled him to the floor."

Mr Albu was eventually assisted by another employee.

Mr Clark added that Carson was a man of previous good character who had never been before the courts before.

Jim Rankin, mitigating, said: "He has a drink problem and has had difficulty coming to terms with that."

Mr Rankin added that Carson had previously sought help from Alcoholics Anonymous and an alcoholics direct line. He was now being offered assistance from his GP.

Magistrates handed Carson a six-month conditional discharge. He was also ordered to pay £150 compensation to Mr Albu and £60 costs.