A DEPUTY manager at Toys R Us in York who stole £9,738 of stock then sold it online has been spared jail.

Father-of-two David Wilson, 35, who worked at the Clifton Moor branch, started stealing from the chain in 2008 - a year after being promoted into a managerial role.

Wilson, of Old School Walk, off Beckfield Lane in Acomb, sold 41 items on the auction website eBay including Blu-ray DVDs, wooden toys, Apple products, games consoles and children's educational software after listing them as "brand new" and "un-opened".

York Crown Court heard he had worked for the chain since 1997 until he resigned in August 2012 when managers accused him of stealing.

Wilson had initially been accused of stealing goods valued at £16,679. He admitted stealing goods to the value of £9,738.

York Press: York Crown Court - zxc

Judge Paul Batty QC, the recorder of York, labelled the case "nothing short of a scandal" after Wilson pleaded guilty more than two years after his first hearing.

The company used software to trace the stolen stock before evidence was handed to loss prevention officers who matched the goods with Wilson's eBay and PayPal account.

He told his bosses he had been the victim of a hacking scam and could not explain how the items had been listed, but officers from a police high-tech team matched his current account and laptop to the ones being used for online transactions.

Kirsten Mercer, prosecuting, said: "At the same time a new Playstation 3 was found in his car that he said was being delivered to Toys R Us in Teesside.

"He was going to drop it off at another employee's home so they could transfer it to the Teesside store.

"He said he had received another call to say the Playstation 3 did not need to be delivered, then he said he had forgotten it was in his car."

John Boumphrey, for Wilson, added: "The defendant knows he has been greedy and knows he has been stupid and is sorry for the aggravation he has caused his employers.

"He doesn't know why he denied this for as long as he did."

Judge Paul Batty QC, the recorder of York, handed Wilson an 18-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

He said: "This has been listed for trial four times and it is nothing short of a scandal the amount of public money you have wasted.

"I am not at all convinced that you were simply arguing over the amount; it's clear that you were not for a long time. A defence statement was drawn up saying you had been hacked.

"You were in a high degree of responsibility having been promoted by Toys R Us and having been employed by them for 15 years.

"They were good employers to you and in breach of that position of trust you stole repeatedly valuable items of computer software that you then cynically began selling and photographing the items using an eBay app.

"You immediately advertised them as being brand new and un-opened, which is what they were having just been stolen from your employers."

Wilson was told to pay back the £9,738, charged £1,000 prosecution costs and made subject to a curfew from 8pm to 6am for six months.