A SUPERMARKET manager who stole almost £20,000 from his

store and went on a three-week gambling spree to Las Vegas has

escaped immediate jail today.

Michael Wood, 33, has 'turned his life around' and tackled

his gambling problem since he first admitted the theft from

Somerfirld in Tewkesbury six months ago, Gloucester Crown Court

heard.

Earlier this year, the court heard how after all the money

had gone, Wood, 33, returned to the UK and gave himself up.

He first took £11,000 from the till of the store on October

27 last year and headed to a casino in Walsall, prosecutor Lisa

Hennessy said.

The next day he took another £8,983 from the shop and flew

to New York from Birmingham Airport. From New York he headed

for the gambling capital of the world, Las Vegas, and lost the

money over the next three weeks.

When Wood returned to the UK he went to police and confessed

what he had done.

Wood, of Orchard House, Stretton Grandison, Ledbury, was

back before the court today to learn his fate after having

sentence deferred for six months to see how he behaved.

His barrister Nick Fridd told the court today that Wood had

kept out of trouble since his first appearance in February and

was currently giving two and a half to three hours each week to

a gambling anonymous group which he had set up.

Mr Fridd handed the court a folder including a letter from

Wood's parents.

Judge Martin Picton said it had been a “risky” decision to

defer sentence in February rather than jail Wood then but it

had “paid off”.

“We had a deal and I'm going to stick to my side. I'm not

going to send you to immediate custody,” said the judge.

The thefts had been detected by store staff when Wood was

away. CCTV was then checked and he was seen arriving at the

shop, going to the till and taking the £11,000.

Wood had been a manager with Somerfield's for 12 years, the

court heard.

He admitted stealing the money from Somerfield's.

Defending Wood at that time, David Chidgey said that his

client was a gambling addict but had kept his problem a secret

from everyone including his family.

“These offences really are a waste of life after he had

built up the trust of his employers over a 12-year period,” he

said.

“He had worked his way up from stacking shelves to becoming

general manager of a store which was an important one for the

company.”

Wood now owed a lot of money to his parents, whose

generosity he had abused and whom he had kept his addiction a

secret from, as well as credit card companies, Mr Chidgey

added.

“He was taking up to £2,000 a month either for on line

gambling or at the bookmaker's,” he said.

Judge Picton told Wood: “You let down your employers and you

let down your parents appallingly.

“The letter they have written describing how they tried to

support you and how you abused that trust makes very sad

reading.

“You have also let down yourself. You have made a total mess

of your life through your addiction to gambling which led to

this reckless behaviour in taking the money from your

employers.”

The judge said Wood “mustn't return” to gambling or let the

people in his life down again.

He sentenced Wood to 12 months custody suspended for two

years, with supervision for 12 months and 150 hours of unpaid

work.

He also ordered that he pay £150 towards costs in the next

28 days.