A man who choked his father in the street after emptying his bank account has been jailed for more than two years for his ‘utterly disgraceful’ behaviour.

James King moved his father out of a care home to live with him, before leaving him with just 20p in the bank and fearing how he would pay for his own funeral.

And the 44-year-old deliberately dumped his father’s personal belongings outside for the binman to take away in a final cruel act after charging him £150 a week to live with him, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Recorder Paul Reid locked King up for a total of 31 months after hearing how the offending had left the pensioner devastated when he was left almost penniless.

“This was an utterly disgraceful and unforgivable incident,” he said.

“Over the course of some seven weeks, you removed a total of £9,250 from his bank account.

“These were not in sums of £150 but range between £200 and £500. The final indignity upon your father’s finances was on August 18, the day of this appalling incident, when you withdrew almost the last penny leaving him with 16p.”

James KingJames King (Image: Cleveland Police)

Sentencing King to a total of 31 months in custody, the judge added: “Your behaviour was egregious in the extent that you abused the relationship with your father and finally, you exercised violence against him in the street.

“Strangulation is a particularly unpleasant offence of violence.”

Ian West, prosecuting, said King had dumped his father’s belongings, including items of personal significance, as a final slight on him after plundering his savings.

He told the court that some of King’s behaviour was witnessed by the pensioner’s social worker who took him to live in a safe place away from his son.

In a victim impact statement, the pensioner said: “This is something that I can never get over. I think about it all the time and cannot believe what has happened.

“My own son has done something like this to me, my money has been taken which I had saved for my funeral.

“The fall out has left me feeling devastated.”

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King, of Dent Street, Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to fraud between June and August 2022, theft from August 2022, and intentional strangulation August 18, 2022.

The charge of fraud against King’s wife, Michelle, were left to lay in the court files, the judge heard.

Stephen Constantine, mitigating, said his client had longstanding mental health conditions.

He added: “He absolutely regrets his behaviour and describes taking hold of his father in this way as absolutely disgraceful.”