A NEWENT man who stole cheques from his victim and cheated her out of £510 in cash and £947 worth of goods has narrowly escaped jail.

Ricky Maddox, 31, of Horsefair Lane, Newent admitted stealing eight cheques from Joyce Maddox between November 2015 and May last year

At Cheltenham Magistrates court he also admitted obtaining £510 from her bank account fraudulently and fraudulently buying £947 goods, including a laptop, gold bracelet and an iPad, on line from Argos.

Maddox was given a 12-weeks prison sentence suspended for 12 months, ordered to pay compensation of £365 and prosecution costs of £85.

He was also made the subject of a restraining order not to contact the victim until January 2018 and a drug rehabilitation requirement.