West Yorkshire fraudster 'cleaned out' his grandparents' bank accounts of £13,000 to fund his cocaine addiction

Bradley Morrison was locked up for two years after a court heard how he preyed on the elderly couple for six months by taking advantage of their love for him.

Leeds Crown Court heard the offending came to light when a carer discovered the couple did not have enough money to pay for food when she went shopping for them as they shielded during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The couple, aged in their 80s, had to rely on charity to pay for food and bills as a result of Morrison's offending.

Emily Jenkins, prosecuting, said Morrison began asking the couple for money in January this year.

The defendant was allowed to use the couple's bank cards to withdraw cash on the understanding that the cards would be returned to them.

Ms Jenkins said Morrison would keep the cards for days at a time without returning them.

The couple told the woman that their grandson had their bank cards and she contacted Morrison to demand they be returned.

Morrison, 26, turned up at his grandparents' home when the woman threatened to call police.

The prosecutor said Morrison started to cry and said he did not have the cards before giving his grandmother £50 for shopping.

Morrison later returned the cards and it was discovered that the couple's three accounts were almost empty.

The victims were devastated and had to rely on help from a parish charity fund to pay bills.

Police were contacted and Morrison was interviewed on May 27 before being bailed.

The court heard Morrison continued to prey on the couple.

He told his grandparents he needed £30 to pay for a bus pass.

Morrison told his grandfather on July 4 that he needed to pay vet bills as his dog was injured.

He was given a bank card and returned it five days later.

A bank statement later revealed transactions had been made that they did not recognise.

The grandmother tried to use the bank card on July 9 but there were insufficient funds in the account.

Ms Jenkins said Morrison took a total of £13,144 from his grandparents' account.

The couple were also charged £178 in banking fees due to the accounts being overdrawn.

Morrison, of Church View, Castleford, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation.

The prosecutor said the offending was aggravated by the vulnerability of the victims.

She said: "He cleaned out their three bank accounts, effectively, which means it must have had a serious detrimental affect on them."

"I don't wish to say much but I hope this is a wake-up call for Bradley.

"Bradley is our grandson and we want the best for him.

"I hope this can be a lesson for him."

Morrison has a previous conviction for fraud committed against his grandparents in 2017, for which he was made the subject of a community order.

Stephen Swan, mitigating, said: "They were clearly kindhearted and wanted to help him and frankly still do.

"He breached their trust in an inexcusable manner

"I won't argue against the fact that he targeted them."

Mr Swan said Morrison carried out the offending when he was suffering from depression after the relationship with his partner broke down.

The barrister said his client began to drink heavily and use cocaine.

He said: "The habit became a major problem.

"This spate of offending followed. He is deeply ashamed and sorry for the distress he has caused to the two people in the world who cared for him the most.

"He believed he had the use of cocaine under control but realises now that it was controlling him."

Jailing Morrison, Judge Robin Mairs said: "Effectively you drained their accounts of practically every penny.

"They had stopped buying food because they could not afford it.

"It is difficult to think of a more despicable financial offence.

"They were devastated and had to rely on charity because of what you did.

"Even when on police bail you returned to your grandparents and preyed upon them again."