A trusted supervisor who stole £1,347 of fuel from his employer has been spared an immediate prison sentence after he became one of the first Bradford people to fall desperately ill with the coronavirus.

Yousaf Amin, 43, dishonestly used a fuel card given to him by the Orridge company while he was homeless and in debt, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Amin, of Leeds Road, Bradford, pleaded guilty to theft from his employer between June 16 and August 6, 2019.

Prosecutor Lucy Brown said he had two previous convictions for nine offences. In 2012, Amin was jailed for six years for running a bogus immigration advice service that ripped off vulnerable migrants.

Miss Brown said that from January, 2018, Amin was employed as a supervisor with Orridge and given the fuel card for business use.

In August, 2019, the company became aware that the card was being misused because Amin was no longer authorised to drive company vehicles.

He owned up at a disciplinary hearing and was dismissed.

Amin went on to be frank with the police and he pleaded guilty to the offence at the first opportunity at the magistrates’ court.

In a victim personal statement, a spokeswoman for the firm said he had abused their trust and confidence. The fuel card system had since been overhauled at cost to the business.

In mitigation, it was stated that Amin, who appeared in court on his birthday, was at a low ebb at the time of the theft. He was separated from his family and sleeping in a company van or bed and breakfast accommodation, and he was in significant debt after a business failure.

In February last year, he became very ill with breathing difficulties on a flight home from Tunisia. The flight had to be diverted to Portugal because he was so poorly and he spent three weeks there in hospital in intensive care.

After he arrived back in the United Kingdom in March, Amin was in Bradford Royal Infirmary on a ventilator for three months after becoming one of the first Bradford residents to fall seriously ill with Covid-19.

The court heard that he still needed a home ventilator and his mobility was reduced. He had struggled to walk into court.

He was now back at home with his wife and five children and he was able to repay the full amount he had stolen.

Recorder Keir Monteith QC told Amin: “You will remember this birthday for the rest of your life for all the wrong reasons.”

He continued: “This was a serious breach of trust. It went on for some time and it had a significant impact on the company.”

Amin was sentenced to 16 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, with a three month curfew order. He was ordered to repay the money in full.