A FATHER and son from Cwmbran cashed in on nearly £60,000 after stealing cheques from a ‘vulnerable’ woman.

Thomas Cooksey, 58, and Stephen Cooksey, 38, both of John Fielding Gardens, Llantarnam, were caught trying to cash a final cheque of £32,000, taking the value to over £90,000.

The pair appeared at Newport Crown Court on Monday afternoon, where Thomas Cooksey was sentenced to two years in prison, and son Stephen received a one and half year sentence. Thomas Cooksey had earlier been found guilty of two charges and Stephen Cooksey guilty of three charges relating to the receiving of stolen goods.

The court heard how over a period of five months, the pair fraudulently stole cheques from a woman they knew who lived ‘an isolated life’.

Prosecuting, Paul Hewitt outlined the cheque amounts that the defendants stole from the victim, all of which link directly to the five counts, which totalled £90,325.

“Counts one and two relate to Thomas Cooksey. The first cheque was for £3,700 and the second cheque was £6,325,” he said.

“Counts three to five relate to Stephen Cooksey and the cheques he cashed or attempted to. The third was for £16,300 and the fourth was £32,000. The final cheque was for a value of £32,000 but this was not cashed in.”

Thomas Cooksey was defended by Brendon Moorhouse, while defence barrister Caroline Rees was representing Stephen Cooksey.

Mr Moorhouse told the court that the elder Cooksey was a primary caregiver for both his father and father-in-law, regularly travelling a great distance to provide care.

“The defendants live in an impoverished state. There is no indication of any underlying drinking or gambling problems though,” he said.

Ms Rees told the court that the younger defendant played a ‘secondary role’ and the actions were ‘out of character’ for a man with no previous convictions.

She added: “He has a degree of agoraphobia and he suffers from anxiety around being with people that he does not know.”

Concluding, Judge Christopher Llewellyn-Jones QC deemed that the elder Cooksey played the leading role in the stealing of the cheques, with his son taking a lesser role.

“What you got from it, I do not know,” he said, addressing Thomas Cooksey.

“We have heard that after cashing one of the cheques, you bought a number of Christmas presents and a vehicle for yourself,” said Mr Llewellyn-Jones, addressing Stephen Cooksey.

He added that the pair targeted the elderly woman in her 60s, who lived in a large detached house and was very isolated from society.

The father and son will both serve one half of their sentences in prison before being released on licence.