A Foxy Bingo player who worked as a marketing executive used her company credit card to pay off her spiralling gambling debts a court has been told.

Caroline Shopand-Saich used the company card to pay off £22,620 in debts it was claimed at the Crown Court in Exeter. As the head of marketing at Applegate Media based in Barnstaple, she was given the credit card to buy reward vouchers for successful sales representatives. She misused the credit card to cover up the debts she had run up with the bingo website over the last 21 months.

The 40 year old admitted to fraud and was jailed for 12 months, suspended for two years. In addition Shopland-Saich will have to do 200 hours' of unpaid work.

The sentencing took account that she had gone to the police and confessed her crime.

Judge John Neligan commented: "This started in a small way and I accept it spiralled out of control."

Defending Shopland-Saich, Bathsheba Cassel, told the court her client had felt under "enormous stress" at work.

"She began to use online gambling and became addicted."