A lowly-paid solicitor described as “a pillar of society” has been jailed for 18 months for stealing £30,000 from his Black Country employers in order to settle an Inland Revenue bill and stave off bankruptcy.

Richard Baker “got into a mess” at work, becoming depressed following the break-up of his marriage in 2001, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

The father-of-two, who earned just £20,000 a year, gave his wife the family home in a “gentlemanly” divorce settlement and moved into a flat, paying more in rent than he had done in mortgage. But he got behind with his work, incurring penalties for his firm, the long-established W.M. Attwood’s, based in Cradley Heath, which was already struggling to compete in the current economic climate.

The firm’s owner was forced to sell his home when the theft was discovered after the total debt spiralled to £144,000 with interest and associated costs. The family-run law firm, which deals mainly in conveyancing, wills and probate, has been in business for more than 100 years, the court heard.

Baker, who worked for the firm for 30 years and been a partner since 1989, had also got behind with his self-assessment tax returns, said Miss Kanwal Juss, prosecuting.

Defending him, Benjamin Nicholls said it was a tragedy that Baker, “a pillar of society”, found himself in the dock and the theft had been an isolated incident.