A Securicor worker went on a spending spree soon after cash bags containing £35,000 allegedly went missing, a court heard.

Daniel Horn, 22, put a £4,500 cash deposit on a new Renault Clio.

He paid more than £2,000, also in cash, to have its wheels, tyres and stereo system improved.

Horn, of Christchurch Road, Worthing, booked a holiday in St Lucia for himself and his girlfriend. It was paid for in cash but cancelled after the couple split up.

He had asked a travel agent how much it would cost to take a party of ten to Florida but did not book it. Instead he took a male friend on a Greek holiday which was also paid for in cash, Hove Crown Court heard.

The jury was told Horn's financial records showed thousands had been paid into his bank accounts and £1,000 cash had been used to open another account.

Dixons sales assistant Daniel Miles said Horn took large bundles of cash from his pocket to pay for a laptop computer he bought from the Worthing branch in March last year.

Mr Miles said: "It is not unusual for customers to pay in cash but I remember that he took rather a large amount from his pocket.

"It was in two bundles and he used a third of the second bundle to pay for the computer in £20 notes."

A cash bag containing £25,000 - one of 22 picked up from Abbey National in Terminus Road, Eastbourne - allegedly went missing after being collected by Horn on January 2 last year.

A second bag, containing more than £10,000, could not be accounted for after Horn allegedly collected eight from Yes Car Credit of Springfield Road, Horsham, on January 13 last year.

The court earlier heard Abbey cashier Fabienne Legge had failed to check the number of bags she had given to Horn and accepted his receipt for 21 bags.

The jury was told a similar error had happened at Yes Car Credit, where the bag alleged to have been stolen had been left unattended in an unlocked drawer.

Securicor investigators concluded Horn correctly followed company procedures in collecting the money and there was no evidence it had ever been given to him.

Horn denies two charges of theft. The trial continues.