Ex-special forces who stole £12k from mum to fund addiction avoids prison

A heartless ex special forces military who stole almost £12,000 from his own mother to fund a game Addiction has prevented me from going to prison.

David Apps left his mother penniless after squandering her money at a sports betting site in a relentless 24-hour binge.

The former special forces soldier defrauded his mother, Anne Bates, of £11,900 in 31 transactions, leaving her with no option but to sell her flat and move to Australia to be with her daughter.

But a court heard the 57-year-old, who according to his LinkedIn served in Australian and British Special Forces, only spent his mother’s savings as a result “of boredom and drink”.

And despite leaving his mother “financially vulnerable”, the former soldier escaped jail but was handed a hefty compensation order.

Apps, from Chelsea, appeared at Southampton Crown Court, Hannover, where a judge handed him a 12-month sentence suspended for 18 months.

He has been ordered to pay back £18,000 in compensation and banned from using his mother’s credit cards for the next year and a half.

An earlier court hearing was told Apps was spending £5,000 a month on his gambling addiction and had spent £11,900 on Spreadex during a 24-hour stay with his mother in Eastleigh.