A MAN used his grandmother’s bank card to steal £16,000 to feed his drug addiction, a court heard.

Jason Guthrie withdrew the cash from his gran’s card after she trusted him to buy her shopping for her.

The 43-year-old, who had lived with his uncle and grandmother in Southampton for six years, withdrew £50 upwards at a time from cash machines.

But in October 2020, his deception was revealed when his victim was left “in a state of confusion” after checking her account only to see she was in her overdraft.

Guthrie denied knowledge of the withdrawals and fled the home.

But he later returned to confess to his grandmother and handed himself in at Southampton Central Police Station.

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Daily Echo: Jason GuthrieJason Guthrie (Image: Hampshire police)

Prosecuting, Charlie Barrass-Evans told the court how his grandmother took him in when “he had nowhere else to go” and that he took the money “without her consent and without her knowledge”.

His grandmother has since died with Guthrie unable to attend the funeral after leaving his family “extremely disappointed”, according to Peter Asteris, mitigating.

Mr Asteris added that his client had suffered a fall and fractured his vertebrae and spine, leaving him reliant on pain-killing drugs.

But after becoming addicted to Class A drugs, he began taking money to feed his habit.

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“Mr Guthrie will be the first to accept it is an egregious breach of trust”, his barrister said, adding that he accepted what he did and has moved away from the area.

Guthrie, now of High Road, Barnet in London, admitted fraud by false representation.

He was jailed for 20 months Southampton Crown Court on Monday.

Addressing the defendant, Judge Christopher Parker KC said: “For a period running into several months - possibly up to a year - you repeatedly and frequently used her bank card effectively to clear out her account.

“You did it entirely cynically behind her back in order to feed your class-A drug habit.

“It is plain that you had deliberately targeted her as a vulnerable person dependent upon you. She was as shocked as could be.”

He added that the offending was “so serious that there has to be an immediate sentence of imprisonment”.

He will also be subject to 12 months of post-sentence supervision.

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