Walker gambler who stole gran's funeral savings sentenced

Matthew Temple would get money from the cash machine for his grandmother (file photo)

A man who stole his grandmother's funeral savings to fund a gambling habit has been sentenced.

Matthew Temple, 34, stole £1,500 from his 86-year-old grandmother between July and August 2021, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

His victim said she felt "betrayed" and had "lost a grandson".

He was jailed for six months suspended for 18 months and must complete 150 hours' unpaid work after admitting theft.

The court heard Temple, from Walker in Newcastle, would make weekly withdrawals for his grandmother as she did not know how to use the cash machine, but took more money than he was permitted.

She asked to see receipts but he got defensive and complained she did not trust him, prosecutor Lucy Todd said.

'Extremely vulnerable'

Another relative discovered she only had £7 in the account but again Temple denied he was responsible for the missing money and claimed the card must have cloned.

The police were informed and he admitted to officers he took the money to pay for his gambling.

In a statement read to the court, Temple's grandmother said the money was supposed to be being put aside to pay for her funeral costs.

She said she was now under "financial pressure" and had relied on friends and family to "have enough money to keep me going".

She said she now felt "extremely vulnerable" and insecure, adding she was "completely let down" and "betrayed".

In mitigation, David Robinson-Young said Temple's gambling habit spiralled and he had planned to pay the money back with his winnings, but "as we all know that kind of plan rarely succeeds".

'Shattered trust'

He said Temple, who has seven convictions for nine offences including three thefts, had had a "close and loving relationship" with his grandmother and he would regularly carry out chores to help her.

"He profoundly regrets what happened," Mr Robinson-Young said, adding he "loves his grandmother" and "misses her everyday".

Temple was "desperate to pay her back" and the hospitality worker had asked for extra shifts so he could return the money as quickly as possible, the court heard.

Recorder Caroline Sellars said Temple had "shattered" his grandmother's trust and "any good" he had achieved helping her had been "undone tenfold" by the theft.

But she said it was better he be able to "stay in the community" and work to earn money to pay her back than be jailed.

A restraining order was also made banning him form contacting his grandmother for a year.