A shop worker who filled his pockets with £9,000 of his employer's cash because the till was "too full" was spared jail today

Saood Chaudhry, 24, helped himself to cash over a four-year span while working part-time for Whittard of Chelsea at the luxury tea retailer's Croydon and Regent Street branches.

The budding architect, of West Way, Shirley, was caught helping himself to the money on CCTV using the 'abort till receipt' option.

He eventually admitted his wrongdoing but walked free today after a judge at Southwark Crown Court gave him "one chance".

Judge Martin Beddoe told Choudhry: "Each time you did this was a time to reflect on what you were doing and each time you made the same dishonest decision.

"More or less on each day you worked for Whittard's since appointed in 2012 you were doing this when opportunity arose."

Judge Beddoe described the theft as a "significant breach of trust" and said there was no financial pressure that led Choudhry to steal.

But he said Choudhry was "intelligent young man" with "good prospects" to build an honest career.

"I will give you this one chance but rest assured that if you do commit any further offence like this again you are unlikely to be given any further such chance.

"It may just be that you can avoid doing this sort of thing again.

"This is your one chance - you better take it.

"You are a very lucky man."

Chaudhry pocketed cash on several occasions between January 2012 and October 2015 while working just one day a week for Whittard of Chelsea.

Prosecutor Mandy McLean said: "When shown taking money from the till and putting money into his pocket he said he had done that because the till was full and he was taking the money out so he could give it to his manager to go in the safe.

"He said he could not remember why he had a calculator at the side of the till when the officer suggested how much he was taking.

"He went on to suggest that other members of staff could have been responsible for the theft."

The prosecutor added that as his job in the store was to take money from customers Chaudhry had betrayed the "high degree of trust" his bosses placed in him.

Chaudhry was arrested on October 20 last year, just one day after being found pocketing £250 in a single swoop.

The architectural assistant – who is currently four years into a seven-year course – is expected to pay back his stolen funds.

When interviewed Chaudhry claimed that "everybody at the store knew his password" and sought to shift some of the blame onto others.

But he later admitted one count of theft by employee and was handed a 12-month sentence suspended for two years.

He must also complete 240 hours of unpaid work.

He is likely to be ordered to repay the stolen money at a confiscation in March.