A MAN who stole over £4,000 from his own granddad in Warrington has been jailed.

Brett Bridgen, of Taylforth Close, Liverpool, has received a sentence of 17 months for transferring £4,500 from his granddad's bank account into his own using online banking.

Jamie Baxter, prosecuting in Liverpool Crown Court on Friday said the 24-year-old visited his granddad at his home in Warrington on April 24, 2016 and asked him for £20, saying he owed him a birthday gift and he was travelling to Ibiza the following day.

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The £20 was transferred through online banking but two days later, Bridgen's granddad was contacted by the fraud action team about unusual activity between his bank accounts.

Large sums of money had been transferred between a savings account and a current account before later being transferred to Bridgen's bank account, without authorisation.

Bridgen took a total of £4,500 from his granddad in two separate transactions.

He has three previous convictions for seven offences, one of which was another case of fraud where he stole over £50,000 from his granddad.

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The 73-year-old victim describes not being able to sleep or trust people following the incident which has also caused a strain on the relationship between him and his son, Bridgen's dad.

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Paul Wood, defending, said Bridgen had entered a guilty plea to the matters.

In the time since the offence, he has been studying for a degree in music production at university and he faces losing his place on the course.

Bridgen also suffers from anxiety and depression and describes himself as being at a low point in his life when he committed the fraud, which was only financially motivated.

Judge Brian Cummings, sentencing, said: "This is the most personal kind of fraud.

"I am satisfied that this was an abuse of trust and deliberate targeting.

"It has caused serious detrimental impact on the victim.

"The glaring aggravating factor is that this is your second offence against him."

Bridgen was handed a 13-month sentence for fraud and a four-month sentence for committing the offence while on bail, to be served consecutively.