sentence halved after a court heard he was devastated by a love split.

Shane Leech, 30, took the money from another flat in the Sunset Lodge Apartments in North Shore Road, Pembroke in August last year but it was still under his bed when Police raided in December.

Defence lawyer Larry Mussenden who was appealing Leech's six-month jail term in Supreme Court yesterday pointed out that Leech had left the Island twice after the theft but had never attempted to take the jewellery with him.

He said: "It was a time in his life when he was going through a break up and it was a stressful time.

"Mr. Leech had drunk some alcohol on that particular night.'' "He was struggling with what to do and how to get it back but he was not able to come up with a solution. An appropriate sentence could have started at probation.'' But Chief Justice Austin Ward argued that a suspended sentence or probation were not feasible because Leech would leave the island after quitting his job.

Prosecutor Oonagh Goodred said breaking and entering should not be taken lightly, whether it was by locals or foreign nationals.

Chief Justice Austin Ward said the magistrate was right to jail Leech on January 5. He said: "A suspended sentence is no sentence at all.'' But he slashed the term from six to three months with time served taken into consideration meaning Leech will be free in a matter of weeks.