Temptation was too much for Currys worker Michael Raybone in the run up to Christmas, a Black Country court heard. He walked out of the store with an Xbox, laptop computer and Playstation – goods that were never recovered.

But the 21-year-old, from Spencer Avenue in Coseley, escaped jail for the theft. Instead, he received words of advice from a Wolverhampton magistrate. Chair of the bench Beryl Farrow told him: “If you ever get itchy fingers again, give yourself a slap on the wrists.”

Raybone stole £1,000 worth of gadgets from Currys on Wolverhampton’s St John’s Retail Park, where he had been working as a Christmas temp.

He was caught out by his boss who spotted him laden with bulging carrier bags and with the Xbox under his arm, Wolverhampton Magistrates Court heard.

Miss Inderea Sharma, prosecuting, said that Raybone was caught on CCTV handing the goods over to two female accomplices who then walked out of the store without paying on December 23.

Mr John Bugg, defending, said his client’s copy book had been blotted by the theft and his ambitions of working in the retail sector dashed. He added he was now on a bricklaying course.

Raybone, who pleaded guilty to theft from his employer on January 10, was given a three-month prison sentence suspended for a year, 200 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £500 compensation.

But he escaped jail, with Mrs Farrow describing him as a “very very lucky young man”.

She told him: “Theft from an employer is a very serious matter as there is a breach of trust and should be treated very seriously and severely.

“You should be going to prison today for three months but we have taken into account the fact that you have been relatively trouble-free for three years.

“We have given you a second lease of life because if you had gone into custody today you wouldn’t have been able to look for a job.”

Raybone stole an Xbox 360 worth £319.99, Packard Bell laptop worth £409.99 and PSP worth £149.99.