A MOTHER defrauded of £500,000 died on the day her thieving son was ordered to pay compensation.

Lady Denys Pain, 86, died yesterday in a nursing home in Kettering, Northamptonshire. She was the widow of Lieutenant- General Sir Rollo Pain, a war hero and former Royal aide.

Her son, Captain Michael Augustus Rollo Pain, was found guilty in March last year of stealing £451,000 from her.

A confiscation hearing was held at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court yesterday after an investigation into the assets of Mr Pain and he was ordered to repay £166,834 to her estate in compensation.

Pain, 53, formerly of Eddlethorp Hall, near Malton, North Yorkshire, is serving a three-year prison sentence for siphoning money from his mother’s bank accounts in 2009 to fund his failing construction business.

Sean Mahoney, son-in-law of Lady Pain, attended the confiscation hearing on behalf of the family.

Mr Mahoney said: “Mrs Pain sadly passed away this morning at half-past-seven at her care home in Kettering. She had suffered from a stroke ten days ago.

I told Mr Pain today.”

Speaking of the trial, Mr Mahoney said: “It’s a great relief. It’s taken a very long time to come to this. We were in total disbelief. No one understands why he did it “He loved himself more than his mother. It had a horrendous effect on her life. He turned his back on his family.”

The theft was discovered in January 2009 after Pain’s sister attempted to withdraw cash from their mother’s account and discovered the she was significantly overdrawn. Pain was sole carer for his mother at the time.

In court, Pain spoke only to confirm his name.

His lawyer, Steven Milner, requested six months for Pain’s wife to sell assets and withdraw money from several bank accounts.

Mr Milner said half of the money would be given in the next week, but the rest would result from the sale of a Volvo HGV and an excavator.

If Mr Pain fails to comply with the order within six months, he will face a further two-and-a-half years in prison and will still have to repay the money.

Detective Constable Neil Jefferson, from North Yorkshire Police, said: “Today’s confiscation hearing was as a result of Michael Pain’s conviction in March 2010. We have made substantial financial enquiries into the case.”

Det Con Jefferson said his department frequently dealt with cases involving drug dealers, but the case of Mr Pain was not common.

At present, £8m is pending confiscation by North Yorkshire Police.