Man stole £8,000 from mother's savings to pay for drugs

Christopher Neville, aged 27, made 112 separate withdrawals from his mother’s savings account in less than two months between June 4 and July 29 last year.

He took a total of £8,265 out of her bank account before the crime was eventually discovered, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

But Neville, from Darfield Road, Cudworth, Barnsley, was spared jail by a judge.

The court was told he was ‘genuinely remorseful’ and a statement from his mother asking for him not to be given custody was read out to the judge.

Her statement said: “Christopher is not a bad person and knows he has done wrong.

“He is doing well with his children and is a good father and I don’t wish to split up the family.”

Judge Julian Goose QC sentenced Neville to four months in jail suspended for 18 months and ordered him to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

He told Neville, who is currently unemployed, he had no power to order him to pay compensation as he is on benefits but expects him to repay the money stolen from his mother in full once he finds employment.

Judge Goose said Neville had stolen the money to fund his drug habit.

He said: “By taking money from your mother, it has deprived her of many years of savings.

“The harm you have caused to her is obviously profound.

“I make no order for compensation because you are in receipt of benefits but the court expects you to make every effort to repay your mother what you stole from her.”