A DREFACH Felindre painter and decorator has escaped jail after a court heard how he stole at least £2,300 from an elderly neighbour suffering from dementia, who thought he was his friend.

Christopher John Morgan, 54, of Oaklands, received a six-month suspended jail term after pleading guilty to 17 separate charges of stealing cash from 86-year-old Lyn Davies over an 18-month period.

Llanelli magistrates heard how the first recorded theft took place on 1 December, 2015.

Morgan continued taking money until he was arrested on 3 April, 2017 and prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard Jones said that during one 32-day period the defendant plundered cash from Mr Davies’ wallet at least 14 times.

The court was told that as Mr Davies’ health worsened Morgan was given some responsibility to help him.

“He took the opportunity to steal from Mr Davies’ wallet when he was supposed to be checking on his well-being,” said Mr Pritchard Jones.

The court was told that in late 2016, Mr Davies’ suspicious family secretly installed a CCTV camera in the property a week before Christmas.

On 22 December, Morgan was seen entering the property and stealing money from Mr Davies’ wallet. The cameras subsequently recorded him raiding the wallet on numerous occasions.

Mr Pritchard Jones told the court that Morgan had “tried to minimise what he had been doing” when confronted by police.

In interview, he claimed he had gone to check on Mr Davies and, when leaving the property, had seen the wallet and taken the cash.

However, the CCTV clearly showed Morgan repeatedly going to the house and taking money without speaking to Mr Davies, who by then remained in his bedroom.

Mr Davies’ daughter told that court that though her father “had never been afraid of anything in his life” he was now “scared to be in his own home”.

David Elvy, defending, told the court the thefts were “a breach of trust of a friend of many years”.

“He realises the enormity of what he’s done,” said Mr Elvy, who added Morgan was unable to say how much money he had stolen.

A probation officer who interviewed him said Morgan could offer “no explanation for why he had done it”.

“He has shown great remorse,” the officer said.

The court was told Morgan had no financial worries despite recently losing his job as he had “a very healthy redundancy package” and had also received compensation following a car accident.

Deputy District Judge Martin Sheen told Morgan: “You have displayed disgraceful behaviour. This is your first offence but it’s a very serious offence. You have acknowledged you behaved disgustingly.”

DDJ Steen said he had considered sending Morgan to crown court for a more substantial sentence but gave him credit for his early guilty pleas.

Morgan was sentenced to six months’ jail, suspended for 12 months.

He was ordered to pay £2,300 compensation to Mr Davies and told to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work in the community.

He was also told to complete 20 hours of rehabilitation to address any psychological issues.

Morgan was additionally ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £115 victim surcharge.