A salesman who stole almost £30,000 from work has been given a last chance to do his community service.

Adrian Lanc was ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work when he was put on a suspended sentence in February last year.

But despite completing two thirds of the order in the first year the 27-year-old then failed to turn up for his appointments leaving 63 hours undone Ann Ellery, defending, told Swindon crown court it was the first breach of the order and he had missed appointments for a variety of reasons including being burgled.

She said he was now employed full time in Chippenham for a marketing firm called PDT earning about £15,000 plus bonuses as a computer worker.

Recorder David Lane QC told her “This is his last chance: if he comes back again he will go to prison.”

He then said to Lance “You’ve heard what I said. I was very close a few minutes ago to sending you straight to prison.

“What you committed was a bar faced fraud on you employers where £30,000 of their property was taken over four months.

“I am sure people will criticise me for not activating it now. You will go away from this building, you will obey to the letter the instructions of the probation officer and you will complete the outstanding 63 hours.”

He added another hour to the work and told him to also pay £100 towards the costs of the hearing.

Lanc stole laptop computers, digital cameras, monitors and projectors to save his terminally ill mum from finding out about debts he had run up.

He plundered the hi-tech stock from German firm Bechtle, where he was a sales account manager, and sold it on E-bay and Trade It to keep the bailiffs away from his door.

Lanc, of Woodpecker Mews, Cepen Park, pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud, six of acquiring criminal property and asked for 32 other matters to be taken into consideration.

Andrew Eddy, defending, said his client had stolen to get money to pay off bailiffs as his mother lay dying of cancer.

He said Lanc had borrowed from her when he set up a business in Chippenham selling car stereos which went on to collapse.

As a result of that and his sister having to give up work the family finances were stretched and people were trying to reclaim money which was owed to them.

He said towards the end of her life the dining room of the home she shared with her children was effectively turned into a hospital ward.

As she laboured under secondary bone cancer which killed her in late October the court was told the bailiffs were at the door.

Mr Eddy said “The motivation was he wanted his mother to pass away in the belief or understanding that all the financial worries were gone.

“Essentially that is the motivation for this crime. Thankfully he says for him she never realised the extent of the debts outstanding. He deeply regrets he used the company’s funds.”

At a confiscation hearing last year Lanc was told to pay £29,876.23p compensation to his former employers plus a further £7,698.86p under draconian new proceeds of crime laws.

Had he had failed to pay the two sums he faced 18 months behind bars.