A TRUSTED council worker stole equipment worth £78,000 to sell on eBay to pay for his gambling habit and spiralling mortgage, a court was told.

Phillip Gaskin, 40, took tens of thousands of pounds worth of plumbing gear in little over a year before he was caught.

The Darlington Borough Council site manager – allowed to resign after the thefts emerged – was locked up for 18 months.

Teesside Crown Court was told today that Gaskin was suffering from 'a multitude of psychological difficulties' at the time.

His lawyer, Ben Pegman, pleaded for him not to be sent to jail because he was 'extremely vulnerable and emotionally fragile'.

But Judge Peter Bowers imposed a prison sentence – although reduced it to one-and-a-half years because of Gaskin's condition.

The judge told Gaskin, of Lady Kathryn Grove, Darlington: "You had a very responsible job with a high degree of trust.

"As you know, a custodial sentence is inevitable to mark the serious way in which the courts view such persistent fraud."

Prosecutor Joanne Kidd told the court that Gaskin's out-of-hours activities came to light after a tip-off to council bosses.

An investigation showed he had taken just over £5,000 worth of gear between the beginning of 2007 and the end of 2009.

From the beginning of last year until March this year, almost £73,000 worth of showers, thermostats and valves went missing.

The father-of-three – employed by the authority since he was 16 – told police he got away with it because there was no auditing.

Gaskin, who admitted two charges of theft, was responsible for ordering equipment which was needed in the refurbishment of houses, and held a key for the storeroom.

He was said by his lawyer to be 'utterly remorseful, utterly contrite and utterly ashamed', and to have paid back £2,171.

The court heard how married Gaskin remortgaged his home to buy 'luxury items', but struggled when the repayments reached £1,000.

His gambling addiction was said to have started at a low level with slot machines in bookmakers, but turned to online betting.

Mr Pegman said: "It never did realise any profit. Mr Gaskin has utterly nothing to show for it. He had hours on his hands, and says he would simply fritter away thousands of pounds."

A Darlington Borough Council spokeswoman said after the case: “As an employer, you have to place trust in your staff and sadly in this instance our trust was betrayed.

"This was a well-respected member of staff who used his position of responsibility for his own gain. This is something that will not be tolerated and we have worked with the police to bring the case to court.

“We’d like to reassure people that all money will be recovered through our insurance.”