A mother-of-two has been jailed after stealing almost £80,000 from her dying parents to go on shopping sprees - leaving her elderly father in debt and too poor to afford a telephone . Christine Lillico , 47 , from Heddon-on-the-Wall , Northumberland , was trusted with looking after her elderly parents ' bank accounts as their health deteriorated with age . But instead of using the money to care for John and Audrey Air she plundered their life savings to bankroll her own lifestyle . Newcastle Crown Court ( pictured ) heard mother-of-two Christine Lillico , 47 was supposed to look after her elderly parents ' bank accounts - but instead stole almost £80,000 from them over a six year period . By the time her fraud was discovered Lillico had stolen a total of £78,000 . Newcastle Crown Court heard in the last months of his life Mr Air went without a telephone and basic amenities , while suffering the shame of being in debt for the first time in his life because of his daughter 's crimes . A judge has now sent Lillico to jail and ordered she pay her brother John Air junior £39,000 - which would have been his inheritance has she not stolen it . Sentencing her to 20 months behind bars , Mr Recorder Baird said : 'You were trusted by your parents to look after them in their elderly years . 'They had modest savings which had taken all their lives to accumulate through hard work . 'Over a period of six years you plundered those savings . 'The result of that was when your father died in 2014 he was in debt , something he had never been in before and that is something that caused him great distress . ' The court heard Lillico spent some of the £78,000 on shopping sprees in B & Q ( file image ) Christopher Knox , prosecuting , explained how Mr and Mrs Air , from Ashington , had both worked in the coal industry and had pensions . The couple gave their daughter control of their bank accounts after they sold their home for £95,000 and moved in to a sheltered flat , as their health began to fail as they grew older . 'The couple lived very sensibly , ' said Mr Knox . 'By 2008 there was at least £55,000 in a savings account . ' The court heard Mrs Air , who had suffered from dementia , passed away in October 2010 and Mr Air died in July 2014 . But the court heard Lillico had been raiding her parents ' accounts since 2008 . Debit card transactions were made at various shops including JD Sports and B & Q . The accounts had also been used to pay for photography services and to buy an XBox and cash was also withdrawn from the banks and cheques written . The court heard Lillico is of previous good character . She pleaded guilty to three charges of fraud . It was calculated the amount of money Lillico stole amounted to what she and her brother would have inherited between them . The judge made an order under the Proceeds of Crime Act that she repay the half she owes within six months . Nigel Hedley , defending , said Lillico was hit by financial problems after a difficult divorce . 'She was a woman of good character . She had a very traumatic divorce and encountered severe financial difficulties . ' He also said Lillico had been suspended from her job as a medical secretary as a result of her crimes , but that she would be able to pay her brother the money she owed by re-mortgaging her house .
miss Lillico , 47 , inherited almost £ 80,000 from her parents over six months . Frail ##y left so poor before his death he was forced to go without phone . She spent the money on Xbox , shopping centres and photography services . Lillico has now been jailed for six months after pleading guilty to fraud .