An ex-local council worker who stole nearly £1 million to fund his gambling addiction has been jailed.

Alan Doig, 57, transferred £934,343.30 into his own bank account between 2003 and 2022 while he worked as a senior assistant accountant for Gedling Borough Council, Nottinghamshire Police said.

Doig, of Bedale Road, Daybrook, in Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty to obtaining a money transfer by deception and fraud by abuse of position after an investigation found he had made 86 fraudulent transactions in the nearly 20-year period.

Judge Nirmal Shant KC sentenced Doig at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday to five years in prison.

Nottinghamshire Police said the stolen money was spent on online gambling sites and added that Doig’s defence barrister said the defendant was led down a “long and dark path” by gambling.

An internal investigation began at the council when a colleague found discrepancies in the financial system, and after this Doig was dismissed.

The judge said Doig was a “popular and credible” employee who “squandered” the money of residents in the borough.

Detective Constable Nabeel Dad, of Nottinghamshire Police’s fraud investigation unit, said: “As a long-serving and trusted senior member of staff, Doig had a high level of access and understanding of the financial systems utilised by Gedling Borough Council.

“He was trusted to safeguard the financial interests of the council, instead he abused that trust in the most appalling way.

“The money should have benefited the community and gone towards local services but instead it went towards his spiralling gambling habit.”

Gedling Borough Council chief executive, Mike Hill, said: “Our organisation is in shock that we are the victims of a crime carried out by a long-serving employee who was in a position of trust and who abused the system to commit fraud on such a scale.

“This was a criminal act and the sentencing reflects the crime and we believe that justice has been served.

“We are confident that this was an isolated incident by a man with a serious problem.

“He stole public money, which could have been used to pay for essential services.”

He added that the money will be recouped in full and the council has new systems in place to prevent it from happening in the future.