A HOUSEHUSBAND who spent more than £16,000 on on-line gambling in his wife's name was spared jail yesterday.

Christopher Good, 45, took out credit cards and a personal loan using his wife Cheryl's details, so he could place huge bets on Ladbroke's gaming site.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how in one month, between December 2003 and January 2004, Good, who cared for the couple's children while his wife went to work, lost £11,502 on credit and debit cards.

He also took out a loan for £5,000 and failed to make even one repayment.

Good, of Stella Hall Drive, Blaydon, near Gateshead, was caught when his wife contacted the police in January 2004 and told them what he had done.

He admitted seven charges of obtaining by deception during an earlier magistrates' hearing.

Mrs Good was in the public gallery to see her husband learn his fate and the court was told she was standing by him "through thick and thin".

Stephen Duffield, mitigating, told the court how Good had worked throughout his life but became a househusband due to childcare costs.

He said: "He turned to gambling to relieve the stress he was under and in the vain hope he was going to make a profit and thereby improve their financial situation."

The court heard how the credit and debit card debts were settled by Ladbrokes, but the £5,000 loan Good took out is still outstanding.

Judge John Evans sentenced Good to nine months imprisonment suspended for a year. He ordered he must pay back the loan within two years.

Neither Mrs Good or her husband wished to comment after the hearing.