A former worker at the smart Huis ter Duin hotel in Noordwijk has been jailed for two years, one suspended, for stealing hundreds of thousands of euros in jewellery from guests.

Judges in The Hague ruled that Marcel J, 44, stole from both the hotel’s owner and from guests in the period 2013 to 2016.

The thief, the personal assistant of the hotel’s owner, was often given jewellery to look after by guests and friends of his boss. However, J took some of the items to Antwerp where he had the gems replaced by fakes. He then sold the real precious stones and pocketed the money.

J was caught out when his partner tried to sell a necklace to a jeweller’s shop in Amsterdam where the owner recognised the item as one he had sold years previously.

The court said that J had gone to work extremely methodically and had used the money he raised to live the high life.

The sentence is less than demanded by the public prosecution department and because J was held in custody prior to the trial, he will be released in six months, the Telegraaf said.