A council has vowed to recover the £78,000 it was left out of pocket by a gambling addict who blew his mother's money on horse racing.

Hartlepool Borough Council staff and a police officer who helped bring to justice a man who sold his mother’s house to fund his gambling addiction have spoken out after he was sentenced.

Dominic Wilkinson squandered his mother’s money whilst she was in the care of a local authority care home after taking over her financial affairs when she was suffering with dementia.

The 55-year-old spent thousands of pounds at the bookmakers as well as transferring cash to his personal account without his ailing mother’s consent.

Teesside Crown Court heard how he was supposed to be paying for her care but was unable to foot the bill despite selling the house for £157,000.

During a police investigation it was discovered that instead of paying for the care home fees, Wilkinson had spent more than £65,000 from his mother’s bank account on bets.

Hartlepool Borough Council was subsequently left with an unpaid bill for his mother’s care of £78,000.

Sadly, Wilkinson’s mother passed away during the course of the investigation.

Speaking after the hearing, Jill Harrison, Hartlepool Borough Council’s Executive Director of Adult and Community-Based Services, said: “This was an appalling case. First and foremost, our priority is to protect adults from financial and other forms of abuse, and we hope that this will serve as a very clear warning to others that we will always pursue justice in cases like this.

“We will also continue to pursue all avenues for obtaining from Mr Wilkinson the outstanding care home fees.”

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Wilkinson, of Rillston Close, Hartlepool, was sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for two years after pleading guilty to theft between August 8, 2019, and September 30, 2020.

He was also ordered to undertake 300 hours of unpaid work; pay a victim surcharge and he will be subject to an electronically tagged curfew for three months.

Acting Inspector Derric Wade said: “Wilkinson gambled his mother’s life savings rather than pay for her care in the final days of her life. Whilst he may have thought that it was a victimless crime not to pay these bills, it certainly isn’t.

“Carers’ wages and accommodation need to be paid for, and essentially the taxpayers of Hartlepool are left to foot the bill for his mother’s care.”