A 37-year-old care worker stole more than £2,500 from a "vulnerable" resident to pay for his gambling addiction, a court was told.

Blackburn magistrates heard that Mushtaq Younus made more than 80 withdrawals using his victim's bank card.

And when the shortfall came to light it was quickly discovered the withdrawals had all been made when Younus was on duty.

Younus, of Accrington Road, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to 13 charges of theft and asked for another 71 to be taken into consideration.

He was committed on bail to Preston Crown Court for sentence after the magistrates ruled their powers of punishment were insufficient.

The court heard that Younus was working at Balfour House, Balfour Street, Blackburn, a residential care home for people with learning difficulties or mental health issues.

Over a six month period he made 84 withdrawals from the account of 63-year-old John Hall and later told police he had taken it to fund his gambling or to pay gambling debts.

Daniel King, defending, said his client hoped to be able to pay back all the money before his appearance at the Crown Court and had already handed a substantial sum to his solicitors to go towards the repayment.

The care home is run by Paragon (UK) Ltd and managing director Paula Woodruff said she was unwilling to comment on the case until it had been dealt with at crown court.