text: David Rylance has been jailed for stealing more than £50,000 from his dying mother, who was suffering from Alzheimer's . A trusted son has been jailed for stealing more than £50,000 from his dying mother, blowing the cash on gambling, a holiday and cinema tickets. When pensioner Margaret Rylance realised her money appeared to be going missing from her bank account, her concerns were put down to her having Alzheimer's disease. But in reality her son David Rylance, 47, had been slowly siphoning the money away, spending it on luxuries for himself as well as everyday living costs. A £13,000 fee to move his mother, from South Shields, into a care home in January 2013 had to be paid by the council because her bank balance had been diminished by her son's spending. Newcastle Crown Court heard one of Mrs Rylance's accounts held just £1,000 at the time of her death in July 2013. Her son continued to access the cash until the balance was zero. Rylance, also of South Shields, admitted theft and fraud involving £52,000 and was jailed for two years and three months. Judge Penny Moreland told him: 'Your mother had had anxieties in the last years of her life that her money was going missing but, because of her illness, that was not taken seriously. 'This was a gross breach of trust. It is hard to imagine someone more vulnerable than an elderly lady with Alzheimer's, unable to protect herself from you accessing her accounts and taking what you wanted. 'You simply treated her money as your own.' The court heard Rylance was in charge of an appointee account set up at Lloyds Bank, which held his mother's cash after her Alzheimer's diagnosis in 2009. Prosecutor Tim Gittins told the court: 'It is clear, very soon after he opened the account, he began to use the monies for his own purposes.' Rylance would transfer large sums of cash from the account into his own, which he used for online gambling, Mr Gittins said. Newcastle Crown Court (pictured) heard one of Mrs Rylance's accounts held just £1,000 at the time of her death in July 2013 . He would also place bets on gambling sites directly from the appointee account. 'The amounts of monies varied from a couple of hundred pounds to £8,000 in one particular month in June 2010,' Mr Gittins added. 'There were, in fact, substantial wins over that period as well.' The court heard Rylance also had access to his mother's regular banks accounts, which he also stole from. Mr Gittins said the crimes had a devastating impact on Rylance's sister Lesley Wilson. The prosecutor said: '[Ms Wilson] said it was a physical blow to find out the truth of it. 'She describes her mother and father had very little when they started out and had built up what they had by working very hard. 'She was devastated to find out the monies had been spent in the way they had by the defendant. 'There had been concerns expressed prior to her death by Mrs Rylance herself about monies going missing and the like. To a certain extent it was put down to her deteriorating condition.' Prosecutors accepted Rylance's claim that some of the cash was used for his mother's benefit. Vic Laffey, defending, said Rylance felt 'shame and remorse' for what he did. Mr Laffey said: 'He tried to get himself out of a hole when all he achieved was to dig himself further in. 'He was drowning in obligations. He was in the grip of quite significant financial problems and in particular a significant and debilitating gambling addiction.' Rylance will receive none of his mother's remaining estate, which will be divided between his siblings.
target: David Rylance, 47, stole thousands of pounds from his own dying mother .
  Dying pensioner Margaret Rylance was suffering from Alzheimer's disease .
  She noticed money was missing but concerns were put down to condition .
  Her son was jailed for two years and three months for stealing £52,000 .