KEEN DIY fan Stuart Gamble had all the tools to do jobs for friends and neighbours, a court was told yesterday.

But he had stolen the equipment, worth £108,000, from the Black and Decker factory in Spennymoor, County Durham, where he worked.

When police raided his home they found thousands of tools he had stolen.

Gamble, 53, told officers he was a hoarder when they found 40,000 powerdrill bit pieces, 4,100 jigsaw blades worth £9,000 and 430 sheets of sandpaper.

Most were crammed into his garage but he also had them in bags hanging from the loft of his farmhouse.

Gamble, who worked in a test laboratory at the factory, admitted stealing the tools during an 18-month period, but denied selling any of them, Teesside Crown Court was told.

All the items were returned to Black and Decker, which cleaned them and sold them for £87,000.

Gamble also admitted stealing tools worth £1,400 from Corus when he was made redundant before joining Black and Decker in April 2000.

Paul Cleasby, defending, urged the judge not to send Gamble to prison, saying: "He cannot really explain what made him commit offences of this nature.

"It really is quite inexplicable but as he has told the police, he is a hoarder and the unusual feature of this case is that the property in its entirety was returned to Black and Decker. There has been no element of profiteering.

"He is a handyman, a labourer good with tools. People have him doing work at their homes."

Gamble, of Biggin Farm, New Brancepeth, Durham, was jailed for nine months and ordered to pay £2,177 costs.