article: A mother-of-two has been jailed after stealing almost £80,000 from her dying parents to go on shopping sprees - leaving her elderly father in debt and too poor to afford a telephone. Christine Lillico, 47, from  Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland, was trusted with looking after her elderly parents' bank accounts as their health deteriorated with age. But instead of using the money to care for John and Audrey Air she plundered their life savings to bankroll her own lifestyle. Newcastle Crown Court (pictured) heard mother-of-two Christine Lillico, 47 was supposed to look after her elderly parents' bank accounts - but instead stole almost £80,000 from them over a six year period . By the time her fraud was discovered Lillico had stolen a total of £78,000. Newcastle Crown Court heard in the last months of his life Mr Air went without a telephone and basic amenities, while suffering the shame of being in debt for the first time in his life because of his daughter's crimes. A judge has now sent Lillico to jail and ordered she pay her brother John Air junior £39,000 - which would have been his inheritance has she not stolen it. Sentencing her to 20 months behind bars, Mr Recorder Baird said: 'You were trusted by your parents to look after them in their elderly years. 'They had modest savings which had taken all their lives to accumulate through hard work. 'Over a period of six years you plundered those savings. 'The result of that was when your father died in 2014 he was in debt, something he had never been in before and that is something that caused him great distress.' The court heard Lillico spent some of the £78,000 on shopping sprees in B&Q (file image) Christopher Knox, prosecuting, explained how Mr and Mrs Air, from Ashington, had both worked in the coal industry and had pensions. The couple gave their daughter control of their bank accounts after they sold their home for £95,000 and moved in to a sheltered flat, as their health began to fail as they grew older. 'The couple lived very sensibly,' said Mr Knox. 'By 2008 there was at least £55,000 in a savings account.' The court heard Mrs Air, who had suffered from dementia, passed away in October 2010 and Mr Air died in July 2014. But the court heard Lillico had been raiding her parents' accounts since 2008. Debit card transactions were made at various shops including JD Sports and B&Q. The accounts had also been used to pay for photography services and to buy an XBox and cash was also withdrawn from the banks and cheques written. The court heard Lillico is of previous good character. She pleaded guilty to three charges of fraud. It was calculated the amount of money Lillico stole amounted to what she and her brother would have inherited between them. The judge made an order under the Proceeds of Crime Act that she repay the half she owes within six months. Nigel Hedley, defending, said Lillico was hit by financial problems after a difficult divorce. 'She was a woman of good character. She had a very traumatic divorce and encountered severe financial difficulties.' He also said Lillico had been suspended from her job as a medical secretary as a result of her crimes, but that she would be able to pay her brother the money she owed by re-mortgaging her house.
highlights: Christine Lillico, 47, stole almost £80,000 from her parents over six years .
  Frail father left so poor before his death he was forced to go without phone .
  She spent the money on Xbox, shopping sprees and photography services .
  Lillico has now been jailed for 20 months after pleading guilty to fraud .
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