A MARRIED couple who enjoyed luxury family holidays abroad with money stolen from the restaurant of celebrity chef Stephen Terry will have to pay back just £1.

Nicola Nightingale, 48, and Simon Nightingale, 51, fleeced the Great British Menu chef out of £150,000 while working at his well-known restaurant The Hardwick in Abergavenny.

The pair were back in Cardiff Crown Court for a proceeds of crime hearing after they avoided jail earlier this May when they were handed suspended prison sentences.

Nicola Nightingale benefited by £150,234.63 while Simon Nightingale profited by £46,741.57.

Neither has any assets which can be seized so were ordered by the court to pay a nominal sum of £1 each.

South Wales Argus:

Gordon Ramsay (left) with Stephen Terry. He was Ramsay's best man (Image: Athena Pictures)

Mr Terry, who trained under Marco Pierre White and was best man at Gordon Ramsay's wedding, opened the award-winning gastropub in 2005 and it has since become known as one of the best restaurants in Wales.

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Mrs Nightingale was employed as his office administrator between February 2018 and March 2020 and used the money to fund her spending addiction.

Her husband pocketed money from the swindle.

Nicola Nightingale pleaded guilty to fraud while he was convicted of possession of criminal property following a trial at Cardiff Crown Court.

South Wales Argus:

Hardwick restaurant in Abergavenny. Picture: Wales News Service

She stole by creating fake invoices, taking out loans in the company’s name and inflating her pay.

Thomas Stanway, prosecuting, told jurors at Simon Nightingale’s trial she made some bank transfers out of the restaurant account while the couple were enjoying a Disney family holiday in Florida.

The pair, formerly of Church Road, Gilwern, near Abergavenny went on frequent expensive holidays to other destinations such as France and Morocco, the trial heard.

Mr Terry, a regular on BBC television show Great British Menu, was struggling to keep his restaurant in Abergavenny going after the scam which took place between 2018 and 2020.

In a victim impact statement, he told the court: “She completely abused her position and my trust and left the Hardwick in a vulnerable position.”

Simon Nightingale had denied possessing criminal property, the cash transferred to him by his wife, but was found guilty after a four-day trial.

Mr Terry told the court he had relied on Nicola Nightingale to take care of the restaurant’s finances but revealed she could be “aloof and entitled”.

He said: “It was hard for us. I was working 15 hours a day, seven days a week. We were not taking a wage and in dire straits financially.”