David Rylance has been jailed for stealing more than £50,000 from his dying mother , who was suffering from Alzheimer 's . A trusted son has been jailed for stealing more than £50,000 from his dying mother , blowing the cash on gambling , a holiday and cinema tickets . When pensioner Margaret Rylance realised her money appeared to be going missing from her bank account , her concerns were put down to her having Alzheimer 's disease . But in reality her son David Rylance , 47 , had been slowly siphoning the money away , spending it on luxuries for himself as well as everyday living costs . A £13,000 fee to move his mother , from South Shields , into a care home in January 2013 had to be paid by the council because her bank balance had been diminished by her son 's spending . Newcastle Crown Court heard one of Mrs Rylance 's accounts held just £1,000 at the time of her death in July 2013 . Her son continued to access the cash until the balance was zero . Rylance , also of South Shields , admitted theft and fraud involving £52,000 and was jailed for two years and three months . Judge Penny Moreland told him : 'Your mother had had anxieties in the last years of her life that her money was going missing but , because of her illness , that was not taken seriously . 'This was a gross breach of trust . It is hard to imagine someone more vulnerable than an elderly lady with Alzheimer 's , unable to protect herself from you accessing her accounts and taking what you wanted . 'You simply treated her money as your own . ' The court heard Rylance was in charge of an appointee account set up at Lloyds Bank , which held his mother 's cash after her Alzheimer 's diagnosis in 2009 . Prosecutor Tim Gittins told the court : 'It is clear , very soon after he opened the account , he began to use the monies for his own purposes . ' Rylance would transfer large sums of cash from the account into his own , which he used for online gambling , Mr Gittins said . Newcastle Crown Court ( pictured ) heard one of Mrs Rylance 's accounts held just £1,000 at the time of her death in July 2013 . He would also place bets on gambling sites directly from the appointee account . 'The amounts of monies varied from a couple of hundred pounds to £8,000 in one particular month in June 2010 , ' Mr Gittins added . 'There were , in fact , substantial wins over that period as well . ' The court heard Rylance also had access to his mother 's regular banks accounts , which he also stole from . Mr Gittins said the crimes had a devastating impact on Rylance 's sister Lesley Wilson . The prosecutor said : ' [ Ms Wilson ] said it was a physical blow to find out the truth of it . 'She describes her mother and father had very little when they started out and had built up what they had by working very hard . 'She was devastated to find out the monies had been spent in the way they had by the defendant . 'There had been concerns expressed prior to her death by Mrs Rylance herself about monies going missing and the like . To a certain extent it was put down to her deteriorating condition . ' Prosecutors accepted Rylance 's claim that some of the cash was used for his mother 's benefit . Vic Laffey , defending , said Rylance felt 'shame and remorse ' for what he did . Mr Laffey said : 'He tried to get himself out of a hole when all he achieved was to dig himself further in . 'He was drowning in obligations . He was in the grip of quite significant financial problems and in particular a significant and debilitating gambling addiction . ' Rylance will receive none of his mother 's remaining estate , which will be divided between his siblings .
Margaret Rylance , 47 , stole thousands of pounds from his own dying mother . Dying pensioner David Rylance was suffering from Alzheimer 's disease . She noticed money was missing but concerns were put down to condition . Her son was jailed for two years and three months for stealing £52,000 .