A SALESMAN from Chippenham who cheated his employers out of almost £14,000 by making fake customer refunds was told his parents could not pay his way out of trouble.

Gavin Wyllie, 28, of Winchester Close, was jailed for nine months at Gloucester Crown Court on Monday for stealing money from his employers, Bathstore.com in St James Street, Cheltenham.

His crimes were uncovered by the company's bank ,with the thefts stretching back over a year.

Wyllie, who admitted three counts of obtaining money by deception and asked for 21 other offences to be taken into consideration, brought £2,100 to the court hearing to pay off some of his debt.

His parents, who were at the hearing, were willing to pay the remaining balance but Judge Jamie Tabor said they would not buy him out of a prison sentence.

He said: "Pleas have been made by your parents, who have bailed you out in the past, and they would bail you out again.

"But I am afraid that your hard-pushed and hard-pressed parents, despite having the best possible motives, cannot possibly buy you out of prison.

"The offences were deliberate and they were prolonged."

Wyllie, whose parents had also stumped up £18,000 to pay his university debts, had been making about two refunds' of around £400 a time each month and paying the money into his own bank account, said prosecutor Janine Wood.

He used some of the cash to buy smart clothes and expensive gadgets. A total of £13,994 was stolen from the firm.

Jason Coulter, defending, said Wyllie was of previous good character and impeccable family background.' He said: "His parents are here today to support him, together with his wife.

"It is a tragedy that a young man from this sort of background puts himself in such jeopardy.

"This young man has lost everything. He had worked hard after not completing his university course and he built up a good relationship with his employers.

"It does seem extraordinary that he was able to get away with it for so long.

"He simply came across the method by chance when doing a refund for a customer and realised that no audit checks were done following any credit refunds.

"Such were his financial difficulties at the time that he simply took advantage of it."

Mr Coulter said Wyllie had made a full admission to his employers before the police were brought in.