WHEN landlord Charles Chandler left a trusted friend in charge of his home while he jetted off to the other side of the world on holiday he thought everything was in safe hands.

But while the retired builder enjoyed a dream holiday with his wife the pal he left behind was plotting to take advantage of his kind and caring nature.

In fact over the eight months Mr Chandler was away Stuart Houselander stole his identity – using it to raid his bank account of almost £50,000, selling his car and running up debts.

Now the 50-year-old faces the next two years behind bars after pleading guilty to a string of fraud and theft offences.

Southampton Crown Court heard how Houselander, originally from Richmond Avenue, Bognor Regis, was lodging with Mr Chandler and was left in charge of the house when he jetted off to the Philippines in October last year.

Over the period his landlord was away, Houselander went on a spree of fraud, and stealing from Mr Chandler.

The court heard how he managed to withdraw £47,000 from a bank account and took out three credit cards in Mr Chandler’s name.

Rob Griffiths, prosecuting, said Houselander took out a false driving licence in Mr Chandler’s name and then sold his Toyota Hilux 4x4.

With the money he received from selling the car, he bought himself a Nissan 350z.

But Houselander’s crimes unravelled when Mr Chandler returned from his holiday in June this year and called the police.

In court, Houselander pleaded guilty to three counts of theft, six counts of fraud, and one count of cocaine possession.

Keely Harvey, defending, said Houselander was full of remorse for what he had done and said he had a drug problem.

The court heard Mr Chandler was left so traumatised and upset by Houselander’s betrayal that he had to move from his home in Kinross Road, Totton.

Sentencing the conman to 28 months in prison, Recorder Ian Lawrie QC said Houselander was a “weak individual” and rejected his offending was down to his “drug habit”.

He said: “The first feature of those fraudulent acts was that they were committed against somebody who you knew, and who put their trust in you when they were absent from their home.

“The only redeeming feature about your case was that you pleaded guilty. That’s because I reject your explanation for the offending namely because you had a drug habit – that’s just too easy to say and too easy to claim.

“You didn’t have to make a choice to start raiding and being honest to Mr Chandler.

“I take the view that you are a weak individual and took the easy option, a dishonest option, which was then to carry out over a period of time a sequence of persistent and deliberate fraudulent acts against a person who imposed in you great trust.

“That’s the worst aspect of this case and the worst aspect of your offending.

“I have noted the care and the content of the victim impact statement and I hope you take great note of what he has to say in that – in many ways he’s a good deal more forgiving than you deserve. The reality is your thieving has had a clear impact on his life and the circumstances of his life.”

He also ordered Houselander to pay £4,724.08 in compensation to Mr Chandler and ordered the police to sell the Nissan 350z – the proceeds of which will go to Mr Chandler.