A dad struggling to pay the bills made a 'terrible mistake' and started stealing at work.
Bradley Jones, 38, started helping himself to 50p and £1 coins, before eventually admitting to pocketing more than £9,000.
He worked as a driver for Loomis collecting coins from shops on behalf of Coinstar, a firm which operates machines where customers can exchange loose change for a store voucher.
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Suspicions were raised about Jones after an audit check, and the firm confronted him.
He admitted stealing more than £9,000, and said he'd been 'struggling to pay the bills'.
When he was confronted Jones had coins in his pockets, and there was also more coins in chewing gum containers in his vehicle.
He was 'dismissed immediately' from his job.
Jones, from Wigan, a former aircraft engineer in the Royal Navy, was prosecuted and hauled before a judge, who described him as an 'intelligent man'.
"Though this was a stupid mistake, I'm sure you'll agree," he said.
The judge, Recorder Anthony O'Donohoe, said Jones had led a 'law abiding life but for this one terrible mistake'.
Manchester Crown Court heard that bosses found a discrepancy between the amount of coins Jones had collected, and the amount collected by another driver between January and April.
There had been a loss of £9,227, prosecutor Verity Quaite said.
The police were alerted and Jones admitted the theft, saying he'd been 'struggling to pay the bills'.
He said it had started with taking 50p and £1 coins, and hadn't realised he had 'taken so much'.
Jones, who has no previous convictions, was sentenced to an 18 month community order after admitting theft by employee.
Defending, Thomas McKail said Jones was in debt.
"He found his income had reduced because there was no overtime available," he said.
"The loss of that had let to debt that began to increase.
"Instead of seeking assistance, he tried to deal with things himself."
Mr McKail said Jones 'now regrets that enormously' and is embarrassed for his behaviour.
Jones, of Oak Street, Tyldesley, has since found work as a HGV driver.
"He simply carried on his behaviour, he was waiting to be caught," Mr McKail said.
"He cannot believe he behaved in that way."
