A MAN who stole more than £16,000 from his elderly parents to pay off his mortgage and go on holidays has been jailed.

Brian Horsley, 67, of Wisbech in Cambridgeshire pleaded guilty to four charges of theft from his parents, who are aged in their nineties, over a seven-month period following an investigation by City of York Council and North Yorkshire Police.

The enquiry was triggered by council officers who discovered that the couple's assets had been drained shortly after an assessment that found they would be able to pay for their own care.

The investigation was carried out by police and Veritau on behalf of the council, with officers discovering that the couple's son had stolen money from his parents in 2013.

Horsley's defence told York Crown Court on August 13 that he had served in the RAF for 36 years and was previously of good character.

His Honour Judge Paul Worsley QC described how Horsley had used the money to pay off his mortgage, clear credit cards and pay for holidays.

Sentencing Horsley to 15 months in jail, Judge Worsley said: “You were in a position of trust and you breached that.”

Cllr Helen Douglas, City of York Council’s executive member with responsibility for fraud, said: “This sentence reflects the severity of that breach of trust and will hopefully deter others by demonstrating the consequences of abusing vulnerable people in our society.”

Financial Investigator Paul Dowsland of North Yorkshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit, commented on the sentence saying: “Brian Horsley’s parents trusted their son to take care of their finances in their later years of life.

“Instead, he abused their trust by conducting fraudulent activity over a sustained period of time for his own personal gain.

“We worked tirelessly with Veritau to investigate this case and make sure that Horsley was made to realise the immorality of his crimes.

“The sentence reflects how serious this crime is and serves as a reminder to those entrusted with such responsibility yet choose to abuse it, that they will be brought to justice.”

If you are a victim of fraud and the crime is in action, or is putting you in danger, call 999.

In non-emergency situations call police on 101 or report the incident to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040.

For advice on protecting yourself from fraud visit northyorkshire.police.uk/fraud.

Anyone with information about suspected fraud should call the fraud hotline on 0800 9179 247 or email fraud@york.gov.uk. To report information anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.