Vale Gordon Maynard, 39, had the last three months of his sentence suspended on the condition he be of good behaviour for the next three years.

The married father of four had worked at the Evandale freight company's depot on weekends and nights, when items were not scanned, rendering his acquisitions virtually untraceable.

The court had earlier in the week heard that Maynard may have escaped detection had he not stolen three mobile phones assigned unique serial numbers.

Items that Maynard had stolen included a coffee machine, LCD screens, a laptop computer and a retail security kit.

Chief Justice Ewen Crawford told the court that imprisonment was called for because his crimes were a serious breach of trust.

``However, particularly because his anxiety disorder may have played a part as a cause of his offending, and because of the opinion of the psychologist that his chances of rehabilitation are good, the length of the sentence will be reduced and partly suspended,'' Justice Crawford said.

``The psychologist reported that he appears very remorseful, but of course that statement had to be considered in the context of repetitive thefts over a period of four years.

``It appears that initially his stealing was to relieve financial worries by in the end he was simply stealing out of habit.''