A CHEF at a Suffolk pub allegedly stole more than �2,000 after leaving his boss a note saying he was quitting his job, a court has heard.

A CHEF at a Suffolk pub allegedly stole more than �2,000 after leaving his boss a note saying he was quitting his job, a court has heard.

Lee Bowles had been working at the Highbury Barn pub in Great Cornard for about four months in December last year when he decided to leave, Ipswich Crown Court was told.

Bowles left his employer a note saying he was quitting and the following day his boss discovered that �2,792 was missing from a box containing customers' deposits for meals over the Christmas period, said Michael Crimp, prosecuting.

He said suspicion fell on Bowles because of the circumstances in which he left the pub and when police went to his home they discovered �1,300 cash.

Bowles admitted to police that he had taken �1,300 from the pub but claimed it was what he was owed in wages.

However, Mr Crimp said that Bowles' employer claimed he wasn't owed as much as �1,300.

Bowles, 21, of Mill Lane, Birch, Colchester, has denied stealing �2,792 from the pub on December 2 last year.

The trial continues today .