Debenhams worker Peter Lowson, 31, had moved to the store's Brunswick shopping centre branch from Hull after being promoted to Loss Prevention Supervisor.

However, the very security cameras he oversaw led to his downfall after management discovered he had been taking cash from tills and other items, including clothing and perfume.

Lowson, of Mapleton Grove, Hull, pleaded guilty before York Crown Court to two charges of theft – one related to the taking of £328 between March 29 and April 1, the other to the goods on April 1.

Prosecutor Simon Ostler told how Lowson, who had been with Debenhams for four years, was promoted last June but it was not long before management at Scarborough realised that cash was going missing.

When quizzed, Lowson admitted taking the cash and other items, which he sold on at car boot sales. He was suspended from his job and eventually dismissed.

Toni Wharton, mitigating, said her client had been in the process of relocating to Scarborough with his wife and young son but had used half of a £1,000 company loan to pay off some of his debts and to fund the heavy drinking caused by the stress of their financial position.

Adding that her client had felt unable to tell his wife of the debts and knowing that a bond and rent was due on their planned new home in the town, he had started drinking up to 15 cans of lager a day, using the money obtained from his thefts to partly fund the alcohol and also pay off some creditors.

The court heard that Lowson had now found new employment selling mobile phones on a self-employed basis for Inspired Telecom and had sought treatment from his doctor for his alcohol abuse.

Sentencing Lowson to a 12 month community order, with one year's supervision and 150 hours of unpaid work in the community, Judge James Spencer QC told him: "You were employed to look after your employer's goods, not steal them."