Man stole from his nan to feed gambling addiction

Man stole from his nan to feed gambling addiction
by chri
AN UNEMPLOYED father-of-two stole £400 from his partially-sighted grandmother to fuel his gambling habit, a court has heard.

James Stone, of Alma Street, Burton, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of theft and one of attempted theft from 64-year-old Evelyn Cresswell when he appeared at Burton Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

Prosecutor, Emma Thompson, said: “This is a clear case of the breach of trust.

“Mrs Cresswell lives alone on the ground floor of secure accommodation.

“She is both diabetic and partiallysighted.

As a result of her disabilities she relies heavily on friends and family.” Mrs Cresswell would often give her pin number and bank card out to family members so that they could withdraw money for her.

On January 29 Stone visited his grandmother at her home and took her bank card from her kitchen cupboard and took £100 from her account.

On January 30 he withdrew a further £300 and then attempted to take out a further £210 the following day.

Police arrested Stone on February 14 following an investigation, when he gave a full account of his actions.

Mrs Thompson said: “His nan has been very supportive of him through the years and he would be lost without her.

“He said he knew she had a lot of money in her account and he had gone on to spend that money on gambling.”

Speaking in Stone’s defence, Sonia Lawrence said her client was ‘incredibly remorseful’.

“He feels the damage that he has done to his nan,” she said.

“He said ‘I think this is the lowest thing I have ever done in my life’.”

She said: “The sad thing is that I am sure if he had asked his grandmother, she would have given it to him, so it’s just a shame that he didn’t ask.”

Stone, 26, was given a four-month custodial sentence suspended for 18 months, with a six-month supervision order.

He was also ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work, as well as pay £85 court costs and £400 compensation to his grandmother.