A MINEHEAD locksmith laundered £4,000 stolen from a 95-year-old woman through forged cheques, a court has heard.

Christopher Cooper has denied the charge during a trial at Exeter Crown Court, claiming he did not realise the cash which passed through two of his bank accounts was dodgy.

The money was stolen from a neighbour after his son Aaron took her cheque book and passed it on to his friend Jason Croker.

He wrote out cheques totaling £3,992 which were paid into the account of Cooper’s CLS Locksmiths business.

Most of the money was moved back to Croker after having been transferred to Cooper’s personal account.

Cooper told police he thought the money had been paid in by Aaron and the cash came from gardening and other casual work.

The jury has heard Cooper must have been suspicious about so much money passing through his accounts in just over two months.

Cooper, 63, of King George’s Road, denies money laundering. The court heard two other men have admitted related offences.

Paul Grumbar, prosecuting, said the victim contacted police when she went into her HSBC branch in Minehead in September 2020 and discovered her account was £978 overdrawn.

Inquiries by the bank showed cheques from a cheque book stolen by Aaron had been forged and paid in, mostly by Croker.

Police later found the stolen cheque book at his home in Minehead and a bank card in Croker’s name on Aaron.

A Lloyd’s cheque book was also stolen but never recovered. Four more cheques worth £460 were also forged.

Mr Grumbar said it is agreed the cheques were stolen and forged and the issue in the case is whether Cooper was aware of the fraud.

He said Cooper transferred the money in different amounts to his private account, and then back to Croker in different sums, suggesting he was trying to hide the trail.

He should also have been suspicious because he knew Aaron and Croker were drug users.

Mr Grumbar said: “What is apparent from these dealings is that there were no invoices, no paperwork, no ledger, no records, just random sums in his apparent dealings with his junkie son.

“We say he knew perfectly well what was going on.”

Cooper told police he was in poor health at the time and thought he was transferring money which had been earned legitimately by his son.

He said the sums transferred differed because his son sometimes owed him money.

The trial continues.