A chef has been sacked from his job on the Queen’s favourite cruise ship after stealing a bus while on duty just a month after landing the job.
Paul Robertson (21), from Dundee, had only just started working on board the five-star cruise ship Hebridean Princess.
Robertson, of Barnhill, and co-accused Carl Jordan (22), from Folkestone, Kent, appeared from custody at Oban Sheriff Court and pleaded guilty to each stealing a bus from Bowman’s Coaches bus yard at Craignure on the Isle of Mull. They also admitted driving without bus licences and insurance.
The bus company had estimated that £15,000 worth of damage had been done to the vehicles.
Robertson and Jordan were bailed until November 8 by Sheriff Douglas Small for reports to be prepared and to find out what damage had been done to the buses.
The converted west coast ferry was offshore when the offences were committed on Monday.
Oban Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday that local residents called the police after seeing the chefs driving the buses at Craignure on Monday evening, having spoken to them earlier in a pub. The buses were found abandoned a short distance from the depot.
Robertson and Jordan were later traced by police to the cruise boat and arrested.
Depute fiscal Scott Simpson said there was no suggestion that the chefs were drunk or over the limit.