A woman admitted stealing £30,000 from her own grandmother to spend on online gambling. Tracey Holgate, 40, began helping her elderly grandma with her finances after her grandad died of cancer in 2013.
Months after setting up a mobile banking app for her, she began taking small amounts from the account without the woman’s permission. Over a seven-year period she stole £30,000, Manchester Crown Court heard.
Her offending only came to light when her grandmother, from Trafford, discovered she couldn’t afford to buy herself a pair of shoes, and her son, Holgate’s uncle, began to investigate. Police later found she had spent £15,000 over an 18-month period on online gambling sites including Gala Bingo and Paddy Power.
