An Australian man who fleeced more than $50,000 from Thrifty Car Rental has been sentenced to two years in jail. Dean John Pitt used his position to steal from his employer to feed a drug habit which his lawyers claim was brought about by imprisonment for a past conviction.

The theft of $52,900 AUD, around £30,000, was made from the Thrifty office at Hobart Airport between November 2008 and September 2009, when Pitt worked as a duty manager for the popular car hire company.

The Hobart Supreme Court heard that Risdon Vale native Pitt, 30, had a criminal record for similar offences while he was based in Queensland, for which he was also imprisoned for two years back in 2004. The court was also told how Thrifty, as a gesture of good faith, had employed Pitt fully aware of his past misdemeanours, with the judge saying that the company had undertaken an act of trust that had been betrayed.

Lawyers for Pitt said his recent drug addiction had been caused by an incident that occurred while he spent time in a Queensland jail, where they allege an unspecified act had triggered memories of childhood abuse that led Pitt to taking drugs and cash.

Pitt stole between $300 and $3,000 every few days during his employment with Thrifty in Tasmania, using electronic banking to deposit the funds into his account. Thrifty bosses eventually discovered his deception which was duly reported to local police. Besides drugs, investigations revealed that the money had been spent on clothes, a DVD player and holidays to New Zealand.

Pitt will be eligible for parole after spending a minimum of18 months in jail.