The family of an 80-year-old grandad with dementia who had his entire life savings stolen by his own granddaughter say they will "never understand" her "utter contempt and cruelty" towards him.
Nicole Taylor admitted wiping out Norman Glover's life savings at Preston Crown Court last month. The 25-year-old had been granted power of attorney and given access to her relative's bank accounts following his dementia diagnosis, but purely for the purpose of covering his household bills, Manchester Evening News reports.
However, in the space of a year, she spent a total of £37,363.63 on takeaways, tattoos and cash withdrawals. It is also believed that some of the money was used for drugs, after Taylor, of Kershaw Street, Chorley, admitted to having an addiction.
Norman’s daughter Caroline, who has supported her dad throughout the ordeal, says he has now been left relying on charity to get by. The 54-year-old, from Oxford, said: “This has been a horrendous time for our family. My dad worked so hard all his life and was left relying on charity, unable to pay his own care home fees.
“Dad helped to raise Nicole. He supported her completely. I will never understand how a member of his own family, who he treated so well, could behave with such utter contempt and cruelty towards him.”
Norman is a former top level football referee and was the first ever official to send off Rangers legend Paul Gascoigne. He also refereed the Bradford City match during the stadium fire in May 1985.
Norman divorced his first wife, Caroline’s mother, in 1984 and married his second wife, Judith Glover, soon after. Caroline and Andrew Glover, Norman’s children from his first marriage, remained close to their father. Norman helped raise Judith’s children from a previous relationship and treated her grandchildren as his own, with Nicole sharing a special bond with him.
“I knew Nicole and she seemed fond of Dad,” Carol explained. “She was often round at the house to visit and she was always very friendly.”
Norman's dementia symptoms first started in 2016. He would become forgetful and confused, with the pensioner formally diagnosed with the disease four years later.
Caroline says: “Once when I visited Dad in hospital, he told me ‘Nicole has got my wallet’. He was very agitated about it but I just thought he was confused. Alarm bells were starting to ring.”
Judith died in June 2020 from bowel cancer and Caroline took legal advice. After Norman’s bank accounts were examined, and an investigation by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), Taylor was arrested by police
Caroline says: “When Nicole found out the OPG were investigating, she texted me to say 'what have I done to deserve this?’. She was only worried about herself, and not the catastrophic impact her actions had on dad and his family.
“When I saw dad’s bank statements, I felt absolutely sickened. There were huge withdrawals of cash, up to £1,000 a day. She’d paid for her parking fines, shopping, tattoos, weekends away, Uber Eats and takeaways, mobile phone bills. There were so many takeaway orders, she must have been handing Dad’s debit card round in a free for all.
“I was appalled. Dad worked hard all his life to provide for his family, he treated Nicole as his own granddaughter, and he trusted her. The betrayal was incomprehensible.”
When Norman could no longer live on his own and required a care home, Caroline said there were no funds to cover the costs. “He couldn’t choose his care home, which was very upsetting,” she said. “We had to rely on the county council for help.
“Dad was then given new medication which really helped with his memory and his confusion. The heart breaking aspect of this was he understood perfectly what Nicole had done to him and he was absolutely devastated.”
Taylor pleaded guilty to theft at Preston Crown Court last month and was sentenced to 14 months behind bars. Norman’s statement, read out in court, said: “I am incredibly disappointed in the person I thought the world of. I am hurt that a loving, supposedly caring girl that I treated like my own could do this to me.
"This will never go away, and I wouldn’t like anyone else to find themselves in the same situation. It’s not something I can put aside and carry on with the rest of my life, it will haunt me forever.
“All my life savings have been taken. I gave you, Nicole, permission to use what you needed to maintain my property, that’s all. Not spend it on tattoos, weekends away, endless takeaways and withdrawing large sums of cash for goodness knows what. I earned that money through years of hard work for my retirement.
“I can no longer spend my money the way I wish as it’s all been stolen. You took it all away. All possessions, everything I owned from my life has gone. You have even taken away the choice of which care home I live in for the rest of my life, and that I can never forgive. Your Grandma would be ashamed of you.”
Caroline added: “We were pleased with the outcome of the trial, and it means we can move on. At a time in his life when he should not be worrying about money, he is relying on charity.”
Det Con Rebecca Pugh, of Preston Police, said the 25-year-old ‘took advantage of her vulnerable grandfather at his time of need’. She added: "The financial loss means he can no longer choose his care home because she selfishly took away that luxury."
Norman’s bank, TSB, has recently confirmed that they will reimburse the money, which the family say has delighted him. However, he is still upset by the betrayal.
A spokesperson for TSB said: "I am pleased that we have been able to refund Mr Glover in full, under our Fraud Refund Guarantee. This follows the court case that was recently brought to our attention."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
