A MAN who fleeced his dementia-suffering mum of more than £13,000 she had saved to pay for her care home fees has been spared jail by a judge.

Southampton Crown Court heard that John Tarrant, 58, emptied his elderly mum Michelle’s account, having first started dipping in to the funds to pay off credit card bills and a mortgage.

But his spending began to spiral out of control and before long he was using the cash to go shopping, pay for petrol, buy a mobile phone and purchase film subscriptions.

The court heard how his mother, a resident of Woodley Grange care home in Romsey, died in February this year and Tarrant was the sole beneficiary of her will.

In total Tarrant, of Chase Farm Close, Waltham Chase, had helped himself to £13,418 that was stored in a bank account to pay for her care.

Prosecutor Matthew Lawson told how the theft came to light when the care home contacted Tarrant to ask why payments had stopped.

Police were able to find out where he had spent the cash after finding a spreadsheet created by Tarrant detailing the transactions.

Mr Lawson said: “He accepted the account had been emptied and made the admission to the staff at the nursing home that he had been using money to meet his own financial obligations.

“The matter was reported to the police but in his interview he denied it and said that he could not remember a large amount of what had happened due to depression and memory loss.”

Hampshire County Council continued to fund his mother’s care after the account was emptied, leaving them with a shortfall of about £10,000.

In mitigation the court heard that Tarrant, who has since pleaded guilty to a charge of theft, suffers from physical and mental health problems.

Andrew Houston, for Tarrant, said that his client had come clean to care home staff in an emotional conversation. He told the court: “He cried down the phone and made it clear his wife was not aware of what was going on.

“His business collapsed and he ended up out of work and his wife lost her job.

“He forgot that the money should have been used solely for her care and began the process of using the money to pay the mortgage and credit card bills and then it got out of control, as it so often does.”Daily Echo:

Sentencing, Judge Peter Henry told Tarrant he had “closed his eyes” to what was happening and spent the money for his own benefit.

He handed him a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and placed Tarrant on a three-month curfew forbidding him from leaving his home between 4pm and 8am.