A SON who used his mother’s debit card to fund his on-line gambling addiction was initially forgiven, a court heard.

But Blackburn magistrates were told that when Stephen John Holt’s deception continued his distraught parent called in the police.

The offences committed after she first found out about her son’s addiction had left her £600 out of pocket, the court heard.

Holt, a Blackburn man of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to four charges of fraud by false representation.

He was fined a total of £720 with £20 costs.

The sentence was set against time spent in custody after the court heard he was due to be recalled on prison licence for an offence of armed robbery in Edinburgh, for which was sentenced in 2007.

Damian Pickup, defending, said his client’s mother had attended at court to support her son, despite what he had done to her.

“She is upset and disappointed by what he has done but she loves her son and has come to support him,” said Mr Pickup.

He said Holt had developed a gambling habit and used his mother’s card without her permission on on-line gambling sites.

“After the initial offences he confessed what he had done and paid his mother back quite quickly,” said Mr Pickup.

“When it happened again six months later his mother felt she had to contact the police.”

Passing sentence, the chairman of the magistrates said it was a ‘particularly mean’ offence.

“Taking money behind your mother’s back is a distasteful thing to do and a clear breach of trust,” he added.