A COUPLE who won a court order forcing their son to repay them £100,000 may end up with nothing after it emerged he spent the money on a luxury lifestyle.

Pensioners Noel and Margaret Foreman say they gave their eldest son, Neil Foreman, £120,000 when they sold their North-East home in November 2007.

The 52-year-old, of Kirkstone Court, Kirk Merrington, County Durham, says there was a loan agreement, but his parents argue that the former police officer convinced them to let him look after the money, then failed to return it.

Last November, Middlesbrough County Court ruled in the couple’s favour and gave their son 28 days to repay £95,000, plus costs, which the court was told is in an offshore bank account.

But Mr Foreman, a planning enforcement officer with Darlington Borough Council, has since claimed in a letter to his parents that he has spent the money.

His letter even gives a breakdown of what the money was spent on:

● Financing a Porsche sports car;

● Motor racing track days, specialist servicing and racing tyres;

● Driving holidays spent touring France and Italy;

● Luxury family holidays in the US;

● Golf lessons, golfing breaks and clubs;

● Michelin-star dining and expensive wines;

● Trips to the races;

● And, according to the letter, “living a lifestyle way beyond my income”.

Addressing his parents, who are in their 70s, he wrote: “You would probably say that the money has been wasted, but I would disagree.

“I have had some outstanding holidays and experiences, which I will always treasure and reflect on.”

The couple, who rent a bungalow in Joseph Paterson Crescent, Ferryhill, County Durham, say their son has left their retirement dreams in tatters and they have spent their third Christmas struggling to pay the bills.

Mr Foreman, 76, said: “We have always done the very best we could for each of our three children.

“It appears that Neil has formed the opinion that his brother and sister were treated differently in that they both had a private education.

“What he fails to appreciate is that at the time he was going to school, I was a very junior police officer earning £9.50 a week.

“It was only when we went into business that we could afford a better education for his younger brother and sister.”

Despite differing educations, the brothers appear to have some common ground – both became police officers with The City of London Police and both trained as pilots.

Neil received the Queen’s Award for Bravery after chasing an armed bank robber only to be shot in the chest at close range, in 1981, and was a commercial pilot for 16 years.

He is hoping to appeal against the court order and has told his parents that if he fails, bankruptcy would be “the most beneficial route”

for him.

He said he was paying them back at £400 a month before the hearings and would continue the arrangement.

At that rate, it would take him 20 years to discharge the debt. Mr Foreman has lived in the £220,000 family home for seven years, but in 2005 it was registered to his daughter, Claire Louise Foreman, who also lives there.

The married father-of-two told The Northern Echo he thought his father’s threats to go to the press amounted to harassment and blackmail.

He said: “I don’t want to discuss it because the matter has gone to the Court of Appeal to see whether leave of appeal will be granted and because criminal activity is now being reported to the police.”

Durham Police were unable to comment last night.

A spokeswoman said: “This is a long-running civil dispute between family members, which has still to be resolved and it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this stage.”