A DIY shop manager fiddled almost £22,000 because he could not face telling his wife that he had run up massive credit card debts.
James Tallin disabled CCTV cameras at the Homebase store in Barnstaple and used another employee's log in to create false refund claims which hid his 70 thefts.
He carried on looting his own store for months until his head office became suspicious of the refunds and sent in an investigator who installed a second, hidden camera which caught him red handed.
Tallin had credit card debts of £35,000 which he had kept hidden from his wife and was stealing so he did not have to admit his financial problems.
He has now been sacked from his job as manager in charge of 'big ticket' sales but has been able to repay all the money by borrowing from his sister.
Tallin escaped jail but was branded as being cunning, devious and selfish by a Judge at Exeter Crown Court.
The 39-year-old father-of-three, of The Square, North Molton, admitted stealing £21,986.76 between December 2012 and December 2013. He was jailed for two years, suspended for two years and ordered to do 300 hours unpaid community work.
Recorder Mr Edward Burgess told him:"This was very serious offending. There were multiple offences over 12 months. The terms cunning, devious and selfish all apply in this case.
"This was a persistent and quite sophisticated series of thefts motivated by financial circumstances of your own making. You admit to the probation report writer your behaviour reflected moral cowardice and a willingness to use grossly inappropriate methods to resolve you difficulties.
"Many members of the public would think an immediate prison sentence was richly deserved but in the light of what I have read about the repercussions for your young family I do not need to take that step.
"I also bear in mind that all the money has been repaid."
Mr Gordon Richings, prosecuting, said suspicion initially fell on a junior employee because Tallin used his log-in to create the false refunds which covered up the money he was taking from tills.
He switched off the CCTV systems for the tills when he took the money but was caught when investigators realised he was the only employee who was at the store at the time of all the thefts and installed a secret camera.
This caught him removing cash from a till and he admitted what he had been doing as soon as he was confronted about it.
Mr Gareth Evans, defending, said Tallin started stealing because he was trying to hide the extent of his £35,000 credit card debts from his wife.
He said:"He was under immense pressure and was embarrassed and ashamed of his position and he could not bring himself to discuss it with his wife or tell her. He made the stupid decision to take money from his employer."
He said Tallin had lost his job as a result and was now helping to look after the family's three young children while his wife worked part time.
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