An armed forces charity chief has been jailed for stealing £43,000 to fund his online gambling addiction.

Former soldier Omar Binbasilar, 55, of Blenheim Square, North Weald, plundered the cash from the Regular Forces Employment Association (RFEA), which helps servicemen and women find work once they leave the forces.

Southwark Crown Court heard today that he faked 58 invoices to siphon the cash out of the charity and into an account specially set up to hide the money.

Binbasilar, the charity's finance director, said he turned to gambling after his job became “increasingly stressful and demanding.”

Jailing him for two years and eight months, Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith said: “Over 18 months you stole money which was intended to go to those in need and you wasted it gambling on the internet.”

His fraud was discovered in October 2011 after his colleague Vani Mahadeva questioned an invoice for a computer that had been processed twice.

Binbasilar told the accountant there was nothing to worry about, but she referred the claims to a senior colleague, who traced £43,453 to his account.

The court heard that Binbasilar, who received several medals after serving in Northern Ireland, the Falklands and the Gulf War, tried to commit suicide by slashing his wrists after the fraud was discovered.

Fiona Dunkley, defending said: “He found it quite hard to accept in his own mind just how far he had transgressed.

“This is a charity that in reality is very dear to his heart which makes it all the more sad.”

The court heard that since his arrest Binbasilar had set up standing order from his Army pension to pay back £100 per month to RFEA.

Judge Loraine-Smith said: “It is very sad a man as distinguished as this find himself where he is.”