Epileptic stole cheque book from pigeon hole
A 46-YEAR-OLD man pretended to be his neighbour to steal from his bank account.
Richard Steele, of The Villas, Stoke, intercepted Anthony Walker's cheque book when it came through the flats' communal letter box.
Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard he then cashed cheques from Mr Walker's account in April 2010.
Fiona Cortese, prosecuting, said: "On April 13 the defendant went into the Co-operative Bank in Hanley and asked for a balance.
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"He said he was Anthony Walker and produced a cheque book and bank statement. He was unable to answer any of the security questions so police were called."
When he was arrested, Steele told police someone had put the cheque book in his pigeon hole.
He had taken £645 from Mr Walker's account, which was covered by the bank.
The court heard he had one conviction for excess alcohol in 1997.
Judge Paul Glenn handed Steele, who suffers from epilepsy, a 12-month community order with 12 months supervision.
He said: "These were quite mean offences but they are out of character and fortunately Mr Walker was not left out of pocket.
"You have some genuine medical problems and social difficulties. I think you need help more than you need punishment.
"You need to engage properly with people trying to help you, such as the medical services and probation."
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