Welsh Cabbie steals thousands of pounds from  disabled passenger

A cab driver from Pembrokeshire, Wales, has been jailed for 18 months for stealing over £5,000 from a disabled passenger who he would regularly pick up. Gary Michael Bourne, 52, gave his victim, Brian Griffiths, 72, regular lifts around Pembrokeshire and had known him since 2010. Griffiths was said to of trusted Bourne "implicitly", even allowing him to withdraw money from a cash machine, giving him access to his personal pin code. The court heard that in January 2017, Mr Griffiths, who suffered from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), progressive lung diseases including emphysema, chronic bronchitis and non-reversible asthma, was unable to leave his bedroom due to his illnesses and had left his bank cards in his living room. It wasn't until mid-February that he realised one of his bank cards was missing. While Investigating the missing card, Griffiths noticed that a number of withdrawals and point of sale transactions had taken place at the end of January. Items purchased included car parts, jewellery and a fridge freezer. A total of £5,134.90, was taken from his account. The police arrested Bourne on suspicion of theft. Appearing at Swansea Crown Court, Gary Michael Bourne admitted six counts of theft and was sentenced to 18 months in jail. Mr Brian Griffiths has since passed away from his illnesses. In a personal statement he said the theft by a man he truly trusted had made him even more ill and caused him "indescribable worry". Speaking directly to Bourne, Judge Rees said:

"You befriended him. Such people like Mr Griffiths and his mother are highly reliant on others. You abused that trust stealing his debit card and persistently using it. "It started when the victim gave his card and number unwittingly for you to withdraw money as it was a task he was unable to do himself. "The affect on them was devastating and Mr Griffiths has since passed away. In his latter days he became anxious about these events. "He never thought you would do this to him. It caused them both a great deal of worry and stress. "Your seemingly kind gestures was a carefully laid plan to take advantage. Your actions were despicable."