Daughter stole £6k from mum to gamble

A HEARTLESS thief emptied more than £6,000 from her elderly mum’s Post Office account to feed her gambling addiction.

Lynne Cree, 50, left the distraught pensioner, who was 82 at the time, with just £80 in her account after using her card to pocket thousands of pounds.

Cree took the card after being told the pin by her mother to cover the Christmas period.

Sentence was deferred on Cree after she pleaded guilty by letter at Dundee Sheriff Court to stealing the money between December 31 2017 and January 23 2018.

In the summary of evidence provided to the sheriff, it was revealed Cree moved in with her mother for a short period after the breakdown of a relationship.

Cree’s mother was said to have been distrustful of her daughter due to her gambling addiction.

On Christmas Eve 2017, the woman and Cree attended the Post Office within Pricekracker, The Hawthorns, where Cree was asked to withdraw £600 to cover

Christmas expenses and to buy gifts for her grandchildren.

At the time, she had more than £5,300 in her account.

The card was not immediately returned and it was only on January 28 that the pensioner started looking for it.

On January 30, she collected a new card from the same Post Office but was unable to withdraw £300 to cover her bills.

The woman became “extremely upset” after realising there was only £80 in her account and contacted the police.

Officers attended on February 5 and found her to be highly distressed.

The woman said she hadn’t seen Cree for several days and did not know where she was.

An investigation revealed Cree had made multiple withdrawals of £100 at a time.

Cree later attended at police headquarters on West Bell Street where she told officers she had taken the money to feed her gambling addiction, believing she could win it back.

Cree, of The Larches, pleaded guilty to stealing the Post Office bank account from an address on Roseburn Gardens and using it to withdraw £6,075.

In a written explanation to the court, Cree said: “I have now made up with all my family and I managed to stop gambling.”

Sheriff John Rafferty deferred sentence until August for reports to be prepared and for Cree’s personal appearance due to the gravity of the offence.