Thief, 24, stole £4,500 from his own GRANDAD, 73, to pay for Ibiza holiday

Liverpudlian Brett Bridgen, 24, used online banking to transfer money into his own account the day before jetting off to Spain.

Appearing at Liverpool Crown Court last week, Bridgen was sentenced to 17 months behind bars.

The court heard the defendant was jailed in 2013 for stealing £50,000 from the same granddad.

Jamie Baxter, prosecuting, said Bridgen visited his granddad, who is now 73, at his home in Warrington, Cheshire, on April 24, 2016.

The court heard how he asked for £20, saying he owed him a birthday gift and he was travelling to Ibiza the following day.

Two days after transferring £20 the elderly man was contacted by the fraud action team.

Investigators found that thousands had been transferred between a savings account and a current account before being transferred to Bridgen's bank account, without authorisation.

The court heard how his granddad, who hasn't been named, struggles to sleep or trust people as a result of the ordeal.

It has also affected the relationship between him and his son, Bridgen's dad, it was heard.

Judge Brian Cummings, sentencing, said: "This is the most personal kind of fraud.

"I am satisfied that this was an abuse of trust and deliberate targeting.

"It has caused serious detrimental impact on the victim.

"The glaring aggravating factor is that this is your second offence against him."

Paul Wood, defending, described Bridgen as being at a low point in his life when he committed the fraud.

He was handed a 13-month sentence for fraud and a four-month sentence for committing an offence while on bail.

Source: Read Full Article