A former sales manager at Ocean Falmouth BMW who kept more than £6,000 of customers' cash deposits, has been given a nine month prison sentence, suspended for two years by magistrates in Truro.

The money was just a portion of £100,000 that Richard Aston, 38, "threw" at his failing relationship with the mother of his child. He spent money on white goods, household items and transferring money to his partner, but it was all in vain as the couple had parted.

Aston, now living in Worcester, pleaded guilty to three offences of fraud committed during the summer of 2015 when he told his Ocean customers that if they paid deposits in cash they would get discounts. This resulted in payments totalling £6,500, but instead of paying that money into the company, Aston kept it for himself.

Alison May, for the CPS, said when Aston was spoken to after a customer had made a complaint, he said he was in some difficulty with a family situation, and would pay it back. But this did not happen, and he lost his job. Police inquiries showed he had had extensive borrowing and loans. He had previous convictions resulting in alcohol treatment and activity rehabilitation.

His solicitor, David Ollivere, said that 2016 had been a distressing year for Aston, with conviction after conviction, and these fraud offences were the last of them to be dealt with, although the first in time. His relationship was failing, and he had been desperately trying to salvage it by throwing extensive amounts of money at it. Ultimately it was in vain, and his first conviction followed the complete breakdown with his partner, with him finding solace in drink. At one point, he had lost everything – contact with his daughter and with his ex partner, his job, and was even estranged from his parents.

"It was an absolutely awful period in his life,” said Mr Ollivere. But he had responded well to treatment, had now gone back to the person he used to be, and was working for a furniture firm in Worcester.

In addition to the suspended prison sentence, Aston was told to pay £6,500 compensation to Ocean and £185 in costs and charges.