A sex addict accountant who stole nearly £100,000 from his company to spend on prostitutes was jailed for 20 months.

Married finance director Charles O'Rorke, 38, spent thousands of pounds on hookers as his "unstoppable compulsion" spiralled out of control.

He was eventually arrested after fellow directors of Elle Wear Ltd noticed a hole in the accounts and contacted police.

A judge at Southwark Crown Court told the devout Catholic that he had "allowed" his addiction to take over his life.

Prosecutor Peter Zinner said O'Rorke tried to cover his tracks by making the illegal money transfers into his accounts look like payments to Customs.

"The other method of stealing the money was to create and sign off false documents or authorities for cash payments," said Mr Zinner.

"The money stolen is a figure just under £100,000."

O'Rorke, of Montefiore Street, Battersea, admitted four counts of theft and four of false accounting between early 2006 and the end of January this year.

The court heard he has been receiving treatment for his sex addiction since his arrest.

Judge William Wood told O'Rorke: "You have pleaded guilty to theft from your employer over a significant period of time and continued that course of action until you were caught.

"You were in a responsible position and your employers trusted you. You abused that trust.

"I accept that you now show remorse and have done all that you possibly can to demonstrate that.

"You have no previous convictions and your life and career will be set back by this conviction, whatever the sentence that follows.

"Your counsel has addressed me about the addiction to sex which has led you to resort to prostitutes whose services cost you so much that you stole from your employers and I accept that you would not have stolen were it not for your addiction.

"It was because of that compulsion that you needed the money that you stole.

"Some people steal out of greed, they need the trappings of money and wealth, and that could be called an addiction.

"Your greed was for sexual gratification."

O'Rorke has already begun to pay back the money that he stole and Judge Wood ordered that he pay £58,000 in compensation within two months, or face a further year in prison.

His wife and other relatives were seated in the public gallery as he was led away from the dock.