A hospital worker stole £23,000 of medical supplies to sell on eBay.

Douglas Stevenson now faces jail after taking items, including specialist equipment, to sell to buyers around the world.

The 31-year-old, an anaesthetic assistant who worked at hospitals across Glasgow, was caught when an NHS fraud team was tipped off.

Among the items taken by Stevenson were specialist surgical implants and skull drill bits. He admitted the thefts, which took place between October 2006 and November 2008, when he appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

Stevenson stole them while working in three Glasgow hospitals - the Royal Infirmary, the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill and the Southern General. He would take the supplies from storage facilities at the end of his shift before carrying them home in his rucksack.

Stevenson, of Colston, Glasgow, then put the stolen items on eBay, but NHS Scotland fraud investigators were alerted to the items being for sale on the auction site. An inquiry led them to Stevenson. His home, along with that of his sister, in Rutherglen, were searched.

Stevenson's garage contained 106 items, with another 115 uncovered in his sister's house.

Prosecutor Linda McCaffer said: "He was interviewed and admitted that he had stolen the property from the various hospitals. He had planned to sell them on eBay for a profit."

Stevenson resigned from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde before a disciplinary hearing could be concluded.

Sheriff Robert Anthony, QC, warned him that the offence was "serious" and of "significant value". He added: "A custodial sentence has to be at the forefront of my mind."

Stevenson will return to the dock next month for sentencing.