A member of catering staff at Buckingham Palace has been jailed after admitting stealing medals and official photos of the royal family from the Queen’s residence.

Adamo Canto, 37, was sentenced to eight months in prison at a hearing at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, the Metropolitan Police said.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of theft between November 11 2019 and August 7 2020 at Westminster Magistrates court in November.

Police recovered a “significant quantity” of stolen items when they searched his quarters at the Royal Mews in Buckingham Palace, where he had worked as a catering assistant since 2015.

Some of the goods, worth between £10,000 and £100,000, which included two prestigious medals, were listed for sale on eBay, prosecutor Simon Maughan said.

The most expensive item stolen by Canto, from Scarborough, was a royal state banquet photo album of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the UK, worth £1,500.

The police force said he was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment for each of three counts of theft by employee, to run concurrently.

The hearing in November was told some 77 items were taken from the palace shop, while others were stolen from staff lockers, the linen room, the Royal Collection ticket office, the Queen’s Gallery shop and the Duke of York’s storeroom.