A man has pleaded guilty to stealing over £1,000 from his elderly mother.

Patrick Parr, 57, of Douglas Drive in Stevenage, appeared at Stevenage Magistrates Court on Monday charged with theft.

The court heard how Parr withdrew £1,220 from his mother Jean’s bank account over five transactions between February and March this year. He did not tell her he was taking the money but claimed he had met two people on the internet who said they would invest it for him - promising him a profitable return.

On March 20 he claims he met the two people in High Street and they put the money in the back of their car. He says they then drove away and have been uncontactable since.

Speaking in his defence, John Goold QC said: “He accepts what he did was wrong but he meant no harm. He wanted to use the money to buy a new armchair and carpeting for his flat where he spends most of his time. He had intended to withdraw the money, invest it sharply, and then return it to his mother without her ever knowing it had been taken.”

Parr was ordered to pay a £20 victim surcharge, a £110 fine and a reimbursal of the stolen £1,220 in compensation.