A HEARTLESS lorry driver posed as his dead neighbour for two years to steal more than ￡60,000 of his life savings and cash.

       Dean Thompson had been "unofficially" caring for David Traylen for over 20 years when he died aged 78.

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       Dean Thompson posed as his dead neighbour to steal his money Credit: MEN Media

       The 54-year-old then cruelly embarked on a two-year spending spree as he helped himself to his late neighbour's money.

       Thompson transferred ￡25,000 to himself before topping up his own finances with a further ￡30,000 in uncashed bonds.

       In total he swiped ￡61,356.25 from the pensioner's accounts.

       Thompson has now been jailed for two years after he admitted five counts of fraud by false representation and one count of theft.

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       Hull Crown Court was told David had no known relatives or beneficiaries to his estate when he died on October 2, 2017.

       Thompson registered the death with Hull City Council but then called First Direct pretending to be David.

       He asked for the ￡28,000 in his savings account to be transferred into his current account before writing a cheque to himself for ￡25,000.

       The selfish lorry driver told the bank he was "very ill" and wanted to "sort out his funds" while posing as David.

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       He used the cash over the next two years to fund his everyday family life and withdrew a further ￡6,367.

       In 2019, Thompson posed as David again to help himself to a further ￡30,000.

       His callous scheme unravelled a month later when the pensioner's sister, who lived in New Zealand, came forward to claim his estate.

       A solicitor hired to liquidate the property unearthed the scam and Thompson was arrested.

       Charlotte Baines, defending, said Thompson knows what he did was "despicable and utterly regrets his actions".

       Sentencing, Judge Peter Kelson QC said: "I accept that you did previously support the victim before his demise.

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       "Your described yourself as his unofficial carer, that is an underestimation of the support you provided him. However, after his death, you immediately transferred money to yourself by deceiving his bank.

       "The aggravating features of this case are the abuse of trust and sophisticated nature of the offence in that it took significant planning. This surpasses the threshold for immediate custody."

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       Thompson has now been jailed for two years Credit: MEN Media