A worker at a law firm stole war medals worth £24,000 and then tried to sell them online.
Ebony Thomas stole the medals while working at the firm, taking them from a secure location where they were being stored.
The medals belonged to collector Harry Taylor, who had amassed the prized collection over 67 years.
But Thomas took advantage of her role at a solicitors in Hartlepool which allowed he access to the treasured items - reports Teesside Live.
Thomas, of Eltham Crescent, Thornaby, appeared at Teesside Magistrates' Court on Wednesday where she admitted theft and was warned she could be jailed for up to two years.
Before her crimes came to light Thomas had already sold three medals to a buyer on Facebook in Liverpool for £1,500.
Lynne Dalton told the court how Mr Taylor considered himself as an expert in the field of war medals after a lifetime of collecting.
She said: "Since 2003 he kept the items in a secure room at a local solicitors.
"However he was contacted by a friend who saw how Thomas was selling 200 medals on Facebook.
"Mr Taylor realised that the medals were his."
Mr Taylor immediately contacted the solicitors where Thomas worked and it emerged that she had removed the medals from his secure box.
The medals were estimated to be worth around £24,000.
The court heard how Mr Taylor was left deeply distressed by the theft and that the medals had been planned to be part of his children's inheritance.
Mr Taylor added that the medals were also of great sentimental value as a number had been bought by his father.
Thomas handed herself in at Hartlepool police station and handed a number of the medals back to police.
Defence solicitor Neil Douglas told magistrates that Thomas had been in severe financial difficulty after running up gambling debts on "online slots".
She then fell further into debt by taking out payday loans to try to cope with her gambling debts.
He said Thomas was of previously good character and had no prior convictions.
Magistrates sent the case to crown court for sentencing due to the severity of the case.
Thomas was granted unconditional bail until the hearing.
