by Paul Hooper

Ex-soldier Kevin Dowling once spent 12 days up to his neck in water tracking a terrorist cell.

But the former Sergeant Major’s patience snapped - when he was overlooked for promotion in civilian life.

The 51-year-old, from Sittingbourne, decided to take revenge on the company bosses who had reneged on a promise of a directorship, a court heard.

Dowling, of Crown Quay Lane, set up bogus deals for phones and laptops - and then sold them on Ebay, the on-line auction house.

In three years, the company Group Two lost just under £70,000 because of the fraud, Canterbury Crown Court heard.

But Dowling - who was Mentioned in Dispatches for his courage in Northern Ireland - avoided an immediate jail sentence because of his time in the British Army.

Prosecutor Jim Harvey said: “He was employed by Group Two Ltd as a technical manager, and was responsible for the ordering of all electrical equipment.

“On July 13 last year he went into work at 7am and removed the petty cash and his company car and headed for Brighton and never returned to work.

“Concerns were raised and it was then discovered that since February 2007, he had been taking out mobile phone contracts, in excess of the number required for customers, and then sold the handsets on Ebay.

“The loss to Group Two on the excess contracts is £55,641.57. Over the same period the defendant had also ordered 40 laptops, costing the company £14,095.19.”

"you live to fight again another day…” – judge o’mahony

Dowling, who pleaded guilty to charges of theft and fraud, later told police he had carried out the fraud as an act of revenge.

Mr Harvey said: “He told officers that he felt aggrieved that he had been given a number of promises by the company but they had not made good on them.

“Effectively, he was conducting these transactions as an act of revenge, rather than just to make a financial profit for himself...”

Paul Hogben, defending, said: “He wished to punish the company for not honouring promises throughout his time there - unattractive as that may seem.

“After years of hard work in which this man with his own knowledge had turned around the fortunes of Group Two.

"It was a struggling company when he began there. He enabled them to grow and profit. He was constantly offered the promise of a directorship.

“Again and again that promise was not fulfilled and he was left feeling very disillusioned and angry and he bottled it all up.”

In 2007, realising he would never make director “he snapped” and decided to damage the company, Mr Hogben said.

“He acted totally out of character because he has served this country for 22 years in the armed forces, in the Prince of Wales Royal Regiment - working his way up to becoming a Sergeant Major.

“He was Mentioned in Dispatches because of his service in Northern Ireland. He spent 12 days, with two others, up to his neck in a river watching a farm where terrorists were said to be.

"As a result of his assistance a terrorist was brought to justice.

“He was discharged with exemplary, long service and good conduct awards.

“Its quite apparent that change from military to civilian life was very, very difficult for him. He told me he found it very hard.

“The lack of discipline, lack of trust and the backbiting and the lack of respect in civilian life was something he wasn’t used to.”

Judge James O’Mahony told Dowling: “What I fail to understand is if you had a job and if you felt you weren’t being treated fairly that you weren’t man enough to deal with that by having it out with the people concerned, or leaving.

“What you don’t do, if you are any sort of decent honourable man, is covertly rip them off over a long period of time. It’s a mean way of getting revenge.

“But anyone hearing what you did for your country would recognise you deserve credit for that and that swings matters just in your favour to persuade me (not to jail you).”

He was given a 12 month jail sentence suspended for two years and ordered to do 300 hours of unpaid work.

As he left court, the judge told the ex-soldier: “You live to fight again another day.”