A SWANAGE bank manager who set up dozens of bogus accounts to steal a total of £156,000 in loans to fictitious customers has been jailed for two years.

Timothy Smith, 30, funded an extravagant lifestyle including lots of exotic holidays after signing approval forms for graduate loans of up to £10,000 each, a court heard.

It all came to a halt when colleagues spotted irregularities and called in police.

Bachelor Smith was arrested and confessed to officers that he had taken the cash out of revenge to the bank for "isolating" him when he was promoted to manager.

Smith told police he'd been given no help or training by bosses for the manager's position.

Prosecutor Michael Mackey told Dorchester Crown Court: "He was the branch manager and while in that position he went about setting up 42 fictitious accounts in the names of fictitious people with fictitious jobs.

"He filled out loan application forms for most of the accounts. They were all graduate loans and as the manager he approved the loans himself."

The court heard Smith had been with Barclays for over 10 years, working his way up from ground floor level and transferring to Swanage in 2000.

In February 2001 he opened an account in the name of Tim Smith and said he worked at Sainsbury's Homebase and earned £25,000 a year. He took out a loan for £9,555.

He then applied for another loan of £9,867 and filled in forms as Trevor Smith who worked at PC World.

A total of 78 similar offences were taken into account and Smith pleaded guilty to three counts of making a false instrument relating to the loans and three of using a false instrument.

Smith offered to repay the money from the sale of his home but he was jailed after a judge told him the offences were so serious he had to pass a custodial sentence.

Garth Richardson, defending, said: "He is a man who always wants to better himself. Even when he was at school he wanted to make sure he got a good job.

"He went to work for Barclays Bank on the ground floor level. He worked his way up through the ranks to a position which his parents could be proud of. That position, however, did not offer very good rewards.

"He felt very isolated in his job and found he was unable to cope with the demands of the very stressful job.

"He was given no help or training and he said he felt cut off from the rest of the world.

"My client said he was getting back at the bank for putting him in that position."