A man stole more than £1,000 from his own father to pay his bills, a court heard.

Fakir Mullah, of Bradford Road in Batley, took the cash after adding an overdraft to dad Liyakat Mullah’s Yorkshire Bank account without his knowledge.

The 34-year-old said he was surprised at how easy it was to commit the offence after correctly answering the bank’s security questions.

He pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud by false representation at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court.

The Huddersfield court heard that Mr Mullah became aware of the crime when Yorkshire Bank wrote and informed him that his overdraft had been approved.

Andy Wills, prosecuting, said: “He hadn’t requested that overdraft and went to his local bank in Batley to query the letter.

“Mr Mullah asked for a copy of his statement and recognised a number of transactions between April 11 and 14 that took place and he had no knowledge about.

“These included payments to Kirklees Council, Yorkshire Water and other bill payments.”

Mr Mullah confronted his son who then went with him to the bank to explain that he was responsible for the £1,110 taken from the account.

Kirklees Magistrates' Court, Huddersfield.
Kirklees Magistrates' Court, Huddersfield.

He told police: “I made the request over the telephone for the overdraft. I didn’t think it would be as easy as it was.”

Mullah said he knew his father’s security details and that he used the stolen money to pay his bills.

Paul Blanchard, mitigating, said that his client’s father would have given him help had he asked for it.

He explained: “He was embarrassed by the fact that he’d found himself in dire financial straits.

“I’m astonished how easy it was for this young man to get past the bank’s security and make the transactions.”

Magistrates sentenced Mullah to 60 hours of unpaid work.

He must pay £85 court costs.