A security firm worker was supposed to hand back a fuel card when his employment was terminated - but instead kept it and stole petrol on 108 occasions worth nearly £8,000.
Paul Crake had been taken on by Arrow Security Shutters but they terminated his contract due to difficulties in getting security clearance.
A court heard the 55-year-old, of Salisbury Street, South Shields, already had a previous conviction for theft from employer and a judge said it might "raise eyebrows" that he was taken on by a security firm.
When the job ended last January, he failed to return his company van, tools or the fuel card.
The vehicle was recovered but a couple of months later it emerged he had continued using the fuel card.
Prosecutor Michael Bunch told Newcastle Crown Court: "The defendant's fuel card, which should have been deactivated since January 21, had, in fact, been used 108 times since that date, for transactions totalling £7,937.
"Matters were reported to the police."
The court heard when officers searched Crake's home, they found company property, including the fuel card.
But the court heard a tablet and some tools, worth almost £2,000, were never recovered.
Crake, who has a previous conviction for stealing tools from another company he worked at, pleaded guilty to theft and fraud.
Miss Recorder Davies sentenced him to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, with rehabilitation and drug treatment requirements.
Peter Walsh, defending, said Crake has mental health difficulties as a result of his dependency on cocaine, that he wishes to address.
