MAN stole his own grandmother’s handbag and fraudulently used her bank card to buy cigarettes before she had a chance to cancel it, a court heard.

Robert Sims, 29, of High Road, Fobbing, is on trial at Basildon Crown Court charged with burglary and fraud.

The jury was told yesterday, the first day of the trial, how Sims and another man broke into his grandmother’s house, on Canvey, and stole the items.

She was home at the time but the trio insisted they would not hurt her.

Prosecuting Edmund Blackman told the jury that three men were then caught on CCTV as the defendant used the card at a shop in Vange a short time after the alleged break-in.

He said: “This case regards burglary and fraud, the allegation is that the defendant burgled his own grandmother and stole her handbag and fraudulently used her bank card before she could cancel it.

“She was living in her bungalow on Canvey and on December 17, 2020, she was home alone and after 8pm she heard a bang and two men came in.

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“She didn’t get a good look at them and they said they were not going to hurt her.

“She was scared and stayed in her chair.

“They started going through her cupboards and looking under the sink, where her husband used to keep tens of thousands of pounds and it was known to the family.

“Her card was then used at Riverview Centre in Vange and he tried to get cash out of a machine and he then purchased cigarettes in the shop.

“CCTV shows three men and one with the card and a face covering but you can see the clothes and build and establish an age and skin colour.”

He told the jury the man on the CCTV has a hand tattoo which matches that of the defendant and both men have Nike clothing which was seized by police when they searched his address.

Mr Blackman said police issued a witness appeal of the suspects and other family members of Sims identified him.

He added: “The defendant denies anything to do with the incident.

“He knew his grandfather had a habit of storing the cash.”

The trial continues