The former manager of an upmarket Cabot Circus store stole nearly £5,000 from the tills to pay for his gambling habit.

David Amooie, 29, pleaded guilty to stealing £4,728.99 from his employers at Hugo Boss between January 3 and April 1 this year, when he appeared before Bristol magistrates.

He was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work under a community order of one year, and told to pay prosecution costs of £60.

Carolyn Poots, prosecuting, said: "The Hugo Boss finance department noticed large amounts of money being refunded on to one card on five occasions."

The card was found to be Amooie's, and the amounts refunded at the tills on to his card did not relate to goods purchased.

Amooie, who has now moved to Imperial Wharf in London to live with his girlfriend's family, said he had taken the money to fund a gambling habit.

Anita Kearney, defending, told magistrates Amooie had worked in retail for about eight years in Newcastle before moving to Bristol in October 2008.

He had moved to the city alone and that was when his habit started.

Ms Kearney said: "He started to gamble on the internet – poker mostly.

"Initially it was not a problem but then it got a hold of him and affected his lifestyle.

"He was gambling a lot of his wages and committed these offences to pay his rent and feed himself."

She added: "This was not a sophisticated operation, he was putting money on to his own card."

She told the court that Amooie has since been attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings, has secured a new job in sales and is changing his spending habits.

Amooie said: "I am finding Gamblers Anonymous very helpful. It has shown me it is something that I don't want to do and that what I have done is a massive mistake. This is something I don't want to come back to me. I am completely ashamed. It has been the worst part of my life."