Jailed: Shropshire man, 24, stole £22,500 from his grandparents

Ryan Christopher Wilkinson, 24, of Riverside Drive, Tern Hill, near Market Drayton, pleaded not guilty to theft at Telford Magistrates Court.

He claimed he was given permission to use his mother's debit card to buy some Christmas presents.

His mother, Carole Wilkinson, told the court how she was power of attorney for her parents' finances and therefore had a debit card for their account.

The court heard how Wilkinson took a NatWest debit card, belonging to his grandparents' account, from his mother's purse in December last year believing it was hers.

Wilkinson then set the card up to his PayPal account where he purchased car parts, clothes and cricket items and spent £22,500 in just two months.

The spending spree was only highlighted when Mrs Wilkinson's sister noticed three large bills had been sent to her parents' home, and thought a card had been cloned.

But Wilkinson confessed he had spent the money, claiming he believed it belonged to his mother's account as the card bore her name.

Wilkinson told the court how his mother, who works as a carer, had not given him a spending limit.

He said: "I asked my mum if I could use her card to buy some items that I wanted and she said I could.

"She told me to take the card from her purse, which was in her bag in the bedroom.

"I took a card from her purse, which had her name on it. I then set it up to my PayPal account.

"My mum never gave me a spending limit. I would have continued to use the card if it had not been picked up."

Taking to the witness stand, Mrs Wilkinson told the court how her son had used her card in the past, which is a Barclaycard.

She said: "I said he could go and get my card, but I did not think he would get the NatWest card as he didn't know I had one.

"Only my three siblings and my husband know I am power of attorney for my parents, so Ryan would not have known that card wasn't mine."

The court was also told how the Wilkinson family put £5,000 back into the account straight away when they realised what had happened.

Magistrates found Wilkinson guilty of theft.

Chairman of the bench, Mr Geoffrey Bailey said: "This offence is so serious due to the victims' vulnerability and the large amount of money spent."

Wilkinson was handed a six-month jail term and also ordered to pay an £80 victim surcharge.