A man who stole £20,000 from his workplace to feed his gambling habit has been spared a prison sentence.

Michael Wood, a supermarket manager from Ledbury, Gloucestershire, admitted to the theft six months ago.  Since then he has dealt with his gambling addiction to turn his life around.

The 33 year-old appeared in court back in February but had his sentence deferred for six months and was back in court last week.

His barrister Nick Fridd argued that his client had stayed clean since his first court appearance and had set up a gamblers anonymous group which met every week for 3 hours.

Judge Martin Picton saw that Wood was trying to make amends and decided against sending him to jail.

Wood was manager of the Somerfield store in Tewkesbury for 12 years.  In October 2007 he stole £11,000 from the till to pay for a night out in a casino in Walsall said Crown Prosecutor Lisa Hennessy.

He then stole a further £8,983 from the store and got on a plane to New York from Birmingham Airport.

He then made his way to Las Vegas, where he went on a three week gambling spree, eventually losing all of the stolen cash on casino games.

On his return to Gloucestershire he turned himself in to the police, regretting what he had done.

Store security staff were already on to him as they watched replays of CCTV footage of Wood taking money from the till, whilst he was in the States after takings were found to be substantially down.

Wood’s defence lawyer, David Chidgey said his client was a gambling addict but kept his gambling habits a secret from family and friends.

Judge Picton, taking all things into account, decided against sending Wood to prison.  Instead he sentenced Wood to 12 months’ custody suspended for two years, with supervision for 12 months and 150 hours community service.

He also ordered Wood to pay £150 towards costs in the next 28 days. 

If you know someone who is in huge debt because of a gambling problem or maybe you are yourself and you feel they may steal to feed their gambling habit or you are thinking of stealing money yourself to feed your gambling addiction, then you should contact GamCare.  Their phone number is 0845 6000 133 or you can visit their website at www.gamcare.org.uk.  GamCare are a registered charity offering counselling services, advice and help for gambling addicts.