A NORTH-East businessman who fleeced £500,000 from his company to lavish gifts on a high-class call girl was behind bars last night.

Infatuated Peter Lee, 51, ruined his bus company, Durham Travel Services, and left 170 workers without jobs, after spending nearly £600,000 on three women.

The married father-of-two bought sex at £1,000 a night from London prostitute Tia, 27, and gave her a BMW convertible, jewellery and a holiday to Bali before his crimes were detected.

Durham Crown Court heard Lee's life was in ruins and he had gone from living a lavish lifestyle to existing on £72 a week state benefit.

His marriage had also failed after the revelations came to light and he had tried to kill himself.

Lee, who had no previous convictions, admitted three counts each of theft, false accounting and forgery at an earlier hearing.

Judge John Walford told him: "You have thrown away a lifetime of hard work and you have brought shame not only on yourself but on your family."

Stephen Duffield, prosecuting, said the company managing director and shareholder had siphoned off a total of just over £590,000 on the prostitute and other women.

He had paid escort Tia, real name Antoinette Cato, a total of £493,000 between February 1999 and July 2002, when his crimes were exposed.

From his office in Seaham, County Durham, he authorised regular computerised payouts to the call girl.

He also paid Kaye Carter, an associate of Cato's, £60,600 between April 2000 and December 2001.

The third beneficiary was Susan Stewart, from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, with whom he had an affair and fathered a teenage son, who received just under £38,000, the court heard.

Lee had set up the business with Eric Bowerbank in 1988 and at the time of the offences he owned 35 per cent of the company and associated firms.

Mr Duffield said the firm decided to break into the London bus market in the mid-1990s and Lee began spending more time in the capital, where he met Tia.

In 2000, office manager Maureen Bell discovered documents that showed he was having a relationship with her.

Later, the firm ran into trading difficulties unrelated to the theft and Lee had attempted to cover it up by forging the firm's accounts.

His dishonesty was discovered in July 2002.

"By this time, his fellow directors were very concerned with what was happening in the company," said Mr Duffield.

His office was searched and bosses found a benefactors agreement stating the terms upon which the company director would make payments to Tia. The company had also been leasing a BMW 320 convertible for the call girl.

The businessman disappeared for several days and later resurfaced in Cumbria, where he had taken a drugs overdose.

Paul Cleasby, in mitigation, said his client had shown deep remorse.

By the time Lee had been in London for two years, he had developed a lifestyle he could no longer afford, said Mr Cleasby.

Judge Walford told Lee he would serve three years for the theft and one year concurrently for the other charges of false accounting and forgery.

He said: ''You were a senior figure in these companies and, as such, were trusted to act properly in accordance with your director's duties.

"You betrayed that trust to the detriment of your fellow directors and the company's employees."

Lee, who arrived at court with a large overnight bag, was handcuffed and led from the dock to begin his jail sentence.

Outside court, Mr Bowerbank branded him a small businessman with a big ego.

He said: "His actions have been despicable."

Detective Constable Mick Moses, who headed the inquiry, said the real victims had been the people who had lost their jobs.

A group of former employees attended the court to see their former boss jailed, but left without comment.