Carer stole £75k from Thunderbirds director, court is told
A CARER stole £75,000 from an awardwinning Scottish director to fund his gambling addiction, a court has heard.
Alan Pattillo, who directed the first ever episode of Thunderbirds in 1965, was targeted in a series of ‘egregious’ thefts by Allan Beacham, it was alleged yesterday.
The carer was said to be trying to ‘dig himself out of a hole’ having gambled away thousands, including £25,000 spent on lottery tickets.
Beacham, 65, is accused of stealing around £75,000 in the two years he had control over Emmy-winning Mr Pattillo’s finances.
The Aberdeen-born writer and director – who worked on films including Walkabout and Gandhi – died aged 90 in January 2020.
In 2017, he had moved from Aberdeenshire to Salisbury, in Wiltshire, to be closer to his family, taking former care firm employee Beacham with him as a full-time carer.
He earned a £45,000 salary and was promised a £240,000 home in Salisbury when the writer, who battled Parkinson’s disease, died.
Taking control of Mr Pattillo’s finances as his health declined, he requested money from lawyers Batt Broadbent to meet expenses. They included £30,408 for dental treatment which actually cost £4,299. Money was then withdrawn from cash machines.
Thomas Evans, prosecuting, told Salisbury Crown Court that Mr Pattillo’s average monthly cash expenditure jumped from £258.33 to £4,607 after the move.
Beacham’s bank statements showed he had spent more than £25,000 on lottery tickets over a 19-month period. Mr Evans added: ‘He has developed an addiction to gambling and tried to dig himself out of a hole by stealing money.’
The ‘most egregious example’ of expenditure was the dental bill, he said. Beacham also withdrew £750 for a niece’s wedding gift but gave the couple a £30 gift voucher.
The court heard that Mr Pattillo raised concerns about his finances in May 2019 and Beacham’s employment ended.
Solicitor Rachel Catherine Wilson, who became involved in April 2019, told the court: ‘I was dumbstruck at the number of cash withdrawals. I estimated £75,000 was withdrawn over the time Mr Pattillo had been with Batt Broadbent.’
Beacham, now living in Wootton, Kent, denies theft. The trial continues.