Man who started using drugs aged 11 stole £1,600 from his grandfather and spent cash on cocaine

A DRUG addict who stole more than £1,600 from his vulnerable  83-year-old  grandfather and spent the cash on cocaine has been jailed.
Leeds Crown CourtLeeds Crown Court
Leeds Crown Court

Leeds Crown Court heard 30-year-old Dale Hampton took his widowed grandfather’s bank card from his wallet and used it to withdraw £1,650 over four days last June.

Prosecutor, Philip Adams said father-of-two Hampton put the bank card back in the wallet and lied when his grandfather - who has memory problems - discovered the cash had gone.

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Mr Adams said: “He challenged him and the defendant said he was daft and not remembering things right.”

The court heard The pensioner from South Elmsall suffered a fall last May and Hampton, who had recently been released from prison, moved into his spare room.

Hampton, of Willow Lane, Featherstone, was trusted with his grandfather's Post Office bank card and he had been given the PIN number.

Mr Adams said: “He doesn’t care about the money but is upset by the breach of trust.

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“He refers to the defendant as being 'a rotten b****r for taking my money when I gave him a roof over his head when he needed one.’”

Hampton, who has 34 previous convictions for 71 offences mainly for thefts from shops, admitted theft.

Mitigating, Jessica Mae Randall, said: “It’s quite clear from his record what it was taken for.

“He has been addicted to drugs since he was 11-years-of-age.”

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Miss Randall said: “He got in with the wrong crowd when he was 11. He started taking cannabis whilst his peers were taking crack cocaine and he said he very quickly moved from cannabis to crack cocaine."

Miss Randall said: “He spent the money that was taken on cocaine.”

Miss Randall said Hampton has been a heroin addict and is currently on a methodone programme.

Jailing Hampton for 16-months, Recorder Margia Mostafa, said: “This is incredibly mean offending.

“You were stealing from your grandfather, who did not have much money, to facilitate your drug addiction.

“He is a vulnerable man and you should have been there to care for him.”