A STRUGGLING double-glazing salesman who stole cash from his firm has been spared jail.

David Rubens, 43, who was supporting two sons at university and a daughter at sixth form college, admitted stealing £2,250 over six months.

Rubens, who had £40,000 of debts, said he was stealing about £70 a week from his firm, Huntley and Palmer, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Nigel Soppitt, defending, said new sales targets meant Rubens was worse off.

Mr Soppitt added; "It is a tragic tale of a man who has been overwhelmed by debt.

"A prison sentence would have a profound effect on him and a devastating effect on his family. He is a proud man, he was unprepared to tell his wife what happened, he simply was too frightened to tell her."

Judge John Walford told Rubens: "I am satisfied from what I have read that you feel utterly ashamed of what you did and I am satisfied that you are most unlikely to fall into this sort of behaviour again."

Rubens, of Hastings Close, Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough, was ordered to do 200 hours community punishment and pay £125 costs after he pleaded guilty to theft.