A man who stole a fuel payment card from his former employers and used it to buy almost £5,000 of petrol has been given a suspended jail term.

Wayne Mitchell, 30, of Avocet Way, Bicester, took the card from firm Helphire Group and fraudulently used it at petrol stations across the county between July 21, and December 24, 2008. He admitted theft and fraud at an earlier hearing and was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Friday.

The court heard the company had been left £21,000 out of pocket but Mitchell, who had lent the card to friends, admitted buying £4,985 of fuel himself and was sentenced on that basis.

Jennifer Edwards, defending, said her client’s offending had been triggered by “a large debt owed for cocaine”.

Recorder Rabinder Singh gave him a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and told him to undertake 150 hours of unpaid work.

He said: “You were in a position of trust as a driver with the company which employed you and you decided for your own financial gain to abuse that trust.

“You found yourself in a position where you were able quite easily to steal and defraud from your employer over a prolonged period of time.”

A hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover some of the company’s lost money will be held in May.