A 55-YEAR-OLD heroin addict who swindled £37,370 using a chequebook stolen from the son of a National Lottery winner was jailed for 16 months.

Barry Taylor, of Victoria Road, Holyhead, Anglesey, had lived in a neighbouring flat to the victim Darren Holland.

Prosecuting barrister Paulinus Barnes told Caernarfon crown court that Mr Holland had moved out. But when he returned last Christmas he realised money had been withdrawn from a bank account.

Mr Barnes said Mr Holland’s father had won on the lottery and given him a large sum of money.

A woman had been blamed by the victim for the theft. When Taylor became aware of this, he went to Holyhead police station with a solicitor in January and confessed his wrongdoing.

Mr Barnes said 18 cheques had been drawn on the account for up to £5,500 at a time. Taylor told police he found the chequebook under a mattress while helping to clear the neighbouring flat.

The signature on the cheques was never queried by bank staff, he maintained, and he spent £20,000 on heroin and also on train and taxi fares to visit his mother in hospital.

“The complainant has been compensated by his own bank for the missing cash,” the prosecutor added. Taylor had a string of previous convictions.

Defence barrister Elen Owen said Taylor, who admitted theft and fraud during five months last year, had been a heroin addict since he was 22.

Counsel said Taylor had managed to stay off the drug for nearly three years. But his neighbour had money to party and the temptation became too much for Taylor.

“He joined in that partying and started on that dreadful spiral of drug-taking,” she added.

Judge Rhys Rowlands told Taylor that Mr Holland had been compensated but the offence wasn’t victimless. He’d taken advantage of someone with similar problems, the judge remarked.

“You have got a pretty dreadful history of dishonesty,” Judge Rowlands added. “I am driven to the view the offence simply is so serious only custody can be justified.”