A regional sales manager lost thousands in a gambling den - then stole a fortune in fertiliser to try to pay off his debts.

Kevin Thompson, 39, ripped off his employers and fleeced friends and acquaintances to feed his gambling addiction, a court heard yesterday.

Thompson, of Alexandra Road, St Leonards, was jailed for three years after admitting stealing £38,000 worth of fertiliser from Scats Agricultural Products, where he worked as a £25,000-a-year sales manager.

He also admitted fraudulently obtaining £30,000 from friends between May 2001 and November 2002.

Sentencing Thompson at Lewes Crown Court, Judge Richard Hayward told him he had been "an extremely dishonest man".

He said: "I accept you are a gambler. I am told the reason for this period of defrauding is that you lost some £12,000 one night in a gambling club. You couldn't pay and were threatened by those you owed money to."

The court heard Thompson's bosses discovered a large amount of fertiliser was missing from the firm's store at Woodchurch. It had been sold but Scats never received payment.

Other customers had paid cash for fertiliser but never had it delivered.

The court heard that between April and June last year, Thompson gambled almost every day, betting almost £50,000 and collecting winnings of more than £37,000.

Acquaintances at a pub saw his success on the greyhounds and started putting large amounts on his tips, believing he had insider information.

Tuesday June 24, 2003