A man from Walton who stole more than £300,000 from his elderly father in cash ISAs and savings accounts has been jailed.

Ian Huntley, 63, of Grange Court, was sentenced for two counts of false representation yesterday after pretending to be his father on numerous phone calls to Aviva to obtain £246,333.02 from an investment bond in June 2013.

He later pretended to have a valid power of attorney to obtain £78,405.07 from his father’s cash ISA from Lloyd’s Bank in June 2014.

Huntley, who had been gifted a house in Marshall Close by his 94-year-old father, used the money to buy another flat in Bridge Street, which he rented out, Guildford Crown Court heard.

Huntley’s father, Robert, who had suffered a stroke, informed police officers when he became aware of his son’s fraudulent activity.

Judge Neil Stewart said: “Your father is in his 90s and has had a stroke, so his speech is an issue, but his mental faculties are still secure. He has made a statement about this.

“This was simply devastating. He doesn’t want to see you anymore. He is in a care home and needs funds to pay for that care. This has significantly impacted on him.

“You are a 63 year old man with no previous convictions. This is a dreadful situation to develop at this time in your life.

“The prosecution argues that this is high culpability because you were in a position of trust in relation to your father, and indeed you targeted him on this basis because of his vulnerability.”

Laura Plant, defending Huntley, said that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had been sectioned at Epsom hospital in 2015 after becoming hyperactive.

She also said how he had become “semi-homeless” and that his marriage had broken down because of his mental health.

However, Judge Stewart said that after reading a report from Dr Ward Lawrence, that there had been an improvement in Huntley’s mental health state, and sentenced him to 20 months in prison for each count, to run concurrently.