Thieving Barnsley vicar Simon Reynolds hands himself in

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A vicar thought to have fled to the continent before the verdict could be returned in his theft trial has been arrested.

Simon Reynolds, of Farnham, Surrey, did not return to Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Police launched a manhunt amid fears he could have fled to mainland Europe.

Reynolds, who was found guilty of four counts of theft, handed himself in at Sheffield police station earlier.

He has appeared at Sheffield Crown Court and is being kept in custody until his sentencing on Tuesday.

The 50-year-old churchman was vicar at All Saints Church in Darton, near Barnsley, when he committed the crimes.

At his trial he was was accused of keeping an estimated £24,000 of fees handed over by bereaved families and engaged couples, between 2007 and 2013.

Money from three of the thefts should have been sent to the Wakefield Diocesan Board of Finance for marriages, funerals and graveyard memorials, prosecutors said.

The fourth count related to payments for monuments that should have gone to the parochial church council.

The court was told an investigation showed Reynolds had only passed on a fraction of what he should.