A MAN who posed as a qualified accountant swindling thousands of pounds has been stripped of his membership and ordered to pay costs.

Harvey Pearce, who lives at Willow End, Dicot, was convicted of a series of frauds and thefts in Didcot and Buckinghamshire last May.

The 50-year-old claimed he was a qualified accountant and was employed as the finance manager of Diamond Light Source in Harwell between June and September 2014.

It was the second time he had claimed he was an accountant, after working in the role at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield.

He pleaded guilty to earning almost £155,000 through false representation and more than £24,000 from fraud and theft from his work at the National Film and Television School.

Pearce was convicted at Aylesbury Crown Court on May 10 of five counts of fraud by abuse of position, two of fraud by false representation and one count of theft by employee.

Yesterday, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants [ACCA] said he had faced a disciplinary committee earlier this month and was stripped of his student membership.

He was also ordered to pay almost £11,000 in costs to the national association.

It said that Pearce was guilty of misconduct because he was dishonest in claiming to be a member and that his behaviour was 'contrary to the fundamental principle of integrity'.

Pearce is eligible to appeal the committee's decision.

ACCA is the global body for professional accountants and has 188,000 members and 480,000 students in 178 countries.

UPDATE: This story has been ammended and previously stated incorrectly, on information received from the association, that Pearce lived in Witney.