Stephen Wiltshire has been sentenced to eight months in prison at Bristol Crown Court for six counts of fraud, totalling £25,762, from the company he worked for.

Mr Wiltshire, 40, of Langley Road, Trowbridge, was employed at Modcell Ltd in Bristol in 2011 as a finance manager.

In 2012 he was added as signatory to the account at the company and was allowed to make electronic transfers.

From February 2012 Mr Wiltshire began to write on the company’s cheque books, making cheques payable to people and companies who were familiar to Modcell Ltd.

The court heard on Monday how Mr Wiltshire, a bowls player for Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, forged cheques made payable to himself and disguised the cheque stubs.

In May 2012 Mr Wiltshire was given the title of finance director and he soon had an assistant to help with the extra work load.

Julian Howells, prosecuting, said: “The assistant found his approach to be chaotic and messy.”

After a tax inspection, bailiffs were called to the company so directors looked into how to end Mr Wiltshire’s employment.

Mr Howells said they looked through his paperwork on September 24 and found bills from debt collectors and bailiffs.

Devizes-born Mr Wiltshire was suspended and then dismissed on October 4 2012.

Mr Wiltshire, who has bowled for Somerset’s Clarrie Dunbar Bowling Club and Spencer Moulton Bowling Club in Trowbridge, was going through a divorce at the time of offending but the couple were still living in the same property.

A previous conviction in 1995 for six offences saw Mr Wiltshire use a bowling club’s cheque book to cash a cheque and retain the money for himself. This was dealt with a community service.

Jonathon Stanniland, defending, said: “He doesn’t come across in the report as a dishonest man. He comes across as a decent family man that doesn’t cope well when upheaval occurs in his life.”

Mr Wiltshire pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud at Bristol Crown Court in June and only spoke to confirm his name at the sentencing this week.

Before sentencing Mr Wiltshire, Honour Judge Lambert said: “The loss to the employer is a significant one.

“The damage that it has done has gone beyond financial loss for the company.

“You had a warning in 1995. You reverted to a similar scheme that you were operating then. A second chance will not be extended to you.

“It is your family for who sympathy should be concerned.”

Outside the court Mr Wiltshire’s father-in-law said the sentence was not enough.

He said: “It makes my blood boil when they said he was a family man. He stole to finance his lavish lifestyle.”

A spokesperson for Modell Ltd said: “ModCell is a small company and it has been extremely unpleasant to have to deal with a betrayal of trust on this scale.

“However, we are determined put this episode behind us and to continue rebuilding the company with the help of our friends, colleagues, suppliers and clients both now and in the future.”