An NHS employee with an entrenched gambling addiction has been jailed after he stole from a charity helping mental health patients.

Ash Aariyaan already had a conviction for stealing from a previous employer when he pocketed £5,825 from the Friends of Mental Health charity.

The 30-year-old father, of Cooling Road, Rochester, was in the process of stealing another £1,050 when his dishonesty was discovered.

Maidstone Crown Court heard Aariyaan started work through an agency for Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust as a logistic administrator with no access to funds.

But when the manager of the voluntary services team retired, his role was subsumed into Aariyaan’s duties.

He was then solely responsible for handling requests for grants made by staff to the charity on behalf of patients.

They were presented at monthly committee meetings and if approved would be paid in cash.

"The abuse is not only of his position, but also the trust placed in him. It is a small charity dealt with by volunteers" - Matthew Bolt, prosecuting

Prosecutor Matthew Bolt said Aariyaan was on leave in July 2015 when a new team manager raised concerns about discrepancies.

“On 22 occasions applications were found to be either legitimate but had been inflated or wholly fraudulent involving forging staff signatures,” said Mr Bolt.

“Given the level of trust, we submit it falls into the high culpability bracket. The abuse is not only of his position, but also the trust placed in him. It is a small charity dealt with by volunteers.”

Aariyaan, who admitted fraud, had been given a 16-month suspended sentence in 2014 for a similar offence.

Christina Rowberry, defending, said Aariyaan had a gambling addiction since the age of 17.

His family situation was difficult, she said, because his partner suffered serious illness after having their third child. Her left side was “riddled with blood clots”.

“A prison sentence will be on her and their children,” said Miss Rowberry, who submitted it could be suspended.

But jailing Aariyaan for 12 months, Recorder Mark Van Der Zwart said: “You had a duty to act responsibly and safeguard the hard-earned funds of that charity.

“Instead, you plundered them in order to feed your addiction. It is not the first time you have done that.

“Charitable donations are generated in modest amounts by people up and down the country. They are hardworking and generous, spirited people.”

The judge said it was a matter of concern that Aariyaan’s employers were oblivious to his dishonesty when he was moved to a role of considerable responsibility.

It was also a matter of enormous regret that his partner and children would suffer as a result of a prison sentence being imposed.

But he added: “This charity, like other charities, needs to be reassured that people who help themselves to hard-earned funds generated by members of the public will be punished severely.

“When released, I hope you will continue to address your addiction and not steal anybody else’s money.”

Andrew Ede, the fraud specialist for the trust, said: “The trust actively publicises cases of proven fraud, to maximise the deterrent effect on others who might try to target Kent and Medway NHS for their own gain.

“These crimes by a small minority tarnish the efforts of all the honest and hardworking people working in and for the NHS.”

Nicole McLaughlin, investigator for NHS Protect said: “This was not only a crime against the NHS.

“Aariyaan cynically deceived patients who were at their most vulnerable and deprived them of much needed equipment.”