A “revered” Surbiton-based accountant who stole close to £300,000 from hairdressing chain Headmasters to fund his gambling addiction was jailed for three years at Kingston Crown Court on July 22.

Gary Ellis, who was employed as chief accountant for the franchise’s parent firm Headmasters Partnership Limited (HPL), spent more than five years amassing the haul by siphoning money from the company into his own private account.

The 34-year-old, who lived in Portsmouth before he was jailed, is believed to have blown a large proportion of the cash on his betting habit, frittering the rest away on luxury holidays and home improvements.

Ellis’ embezzling was on such a grand scale that he effectively prevented the company opening a new chain, costing up to 40 jobs by stealing the money over the course of 36 separate incidents, the court heard.

Judge Barnes, sentencing, said: "This is a sad case - sad for your family, sad for the company and sad for you.

"This breach against your company who repeatedly rewarded you has many aggravating factors.

"Many people have disadvantages in life that cause them to do things, you are not one of these people.

"You were not a man in real need, you took the money out of greed because you wanted things you couldn’t afford."

Acting Detective Constable Tony Holley from Kingston CID said the morale of the company had been "severely injured" by the fraud, but added none of the franchised shops were directly affected by the scam.

He said: "This was a serious breach of trust against a company that had treated him extremely well over the years.

"HPL had revered his accountancy skills and placed a great deal of trust in him."

Ellis only stopped his thieving spree, which he conducted between February 2004 and February 2009, when he was rumbled by other members of staff.

HPC controls 35 Headmasters salon franchises nationwide, including the branch in Clarence Street, Kingston.