At the High Court in Edinburgh, Timothy Blagbrough, 35, was ordered to carry out 300 hours of community service after pleading guilty to three charges of stealing money from the Customs and Excise HQ in Inchinnan Road, Paisley, to pay off debts.

The judge was told Blagbrough had paid back the £3,500 he had stolen and that his career was in ruins.

The case was heard at the High in Edinburgh

Lord Kingarth told him he was guilty of a very serious breach of trust which would normally have led to a prison sentence.

However, he added: "You came before me as a first offender after years of public service.

"The offences were wholly out of character for you and committed at a time when you were plainly under stress."

The judge also said background reports had made it clear Blagbrough was unlikely to offend again.

The court heard that Blagbrough's debts had escalated after he was transferred to Paisley from the south of England.

'Negative equity'

His house in England was caught in the "negative equity" trap and when he took on a £75,000 mortgage for a flat in Glasgow, on top of mounting credit card bills, his financial difficulties became such that he chose to steal rather than ask his parents for help.

Blagbrough resigned from his post as soon as the offences came to light, having worked for Customs and Excise since leaving school.

After sentence had been passed, a senior investigator with the Customs and Excise in Scotland, Ranald Macdonald, said he did not want to comment on the judge's sentence but it was clear his former colleague had had "a momentary lapse".