Mother, 53, and her father, 93, conspired to steal £50,000 left to her two daughters by their grandmother

A mother and her father conspired to steal £50,000 inheritance left for her two daughters in a will by their late grandmother, a court has heard.

Katherine Hill, 53, and her father Gerald Hill, 93, staged a 'blatant and brazen' fraud by taking every penny the two girls were left, Swansea Crown Court was told.

The £50,000 inheritance was left for Gemma and Jessica Thomas by their beloved grandmother Margaret Hill on the proviso that they could access it when they turned 25.

The sisters' mother Katherine and their grandfather Gerald were trustees of the account and allegedly emptied it within just over a year.

However, Gerald Hill claimed he had been posting the money through the letterbox of his granddaughters' home because they were 'harassing' their mother for money. 

The sisters' grandmother Margaret Hill died in 2013 and placed the money for her grandchildren in a trust managed in part by their mother.

Katherine Hill later placed the money into an Barclays Everyday Saver account despite being advised not to - which allowed instant access, the court was told.

Katherine and Gerald Hill both had cards for the account and within 12 months of it being opened most of the £50,000 had been withdrawn through cash withdrawals.

The alleged fraud was only realised in 2018 when one of the girls asked for her money early so she could buy a house with her boyfriend.

Gerald Hill claimed he gave the majority of the £50,000 to them through a letterbox as he 'thought it was the best way to do it at the time' and 'didn't want to know them.' 

He also told police he did so because the girls were 'harassing' their mother for money.

The transactions included one for £15,000 and others for £10,000 - along with a single bank transfer of £2,300 directly into Katherine Hill's account.

She claims that transaction was used to pay for the family's boxer dog operation which Jessica had agreed to.

She told police that card payments made at New Look and Primark were for shopping trips on behalf of her daughters.

She said: 'It was for their benefit - I didn't think I was doing anything wrong.'

 After the alarm was raised in 2018, solicitors began a civil investigation into the fund and the police were called in.

Christopher Thomas - Katherine Hill's ex-husband and Jessica and Gemma's father - reported the alleged fraud to the police.

Katherine Hill told police she had known nothing about the large withdrawals of cash until her father told her he had been putting it in envelopes and posting it where his granddaughters lived.

The court heard that Katherine Hill's relationship with her daughters became difficult after the divorce from her ex-husband and she suffered with her health and mental health.

She said Jessica and Gemma were living a lavish lifestyle with her ex-partner and claims that they no longer would eat at McDonald's - only 'posh places' - and would demand money from her for a new phone, holidays and clothes.

Gerald Hill told police that he and Katherine had fallen out at one point after he told her that he intended to take his granddaughters out of his will.

He said that he couldn't see Katherine 'suffer' anymore because of them and as far as he was concerned, they'd had their inheritance money.

DC Aled Brothers said the cash 'is impossible to follow' and there is no way to trace the money.

Mr Hill told DC Brothers that he would always protect his daughter, adding: 'I'd die for her.'

In court Katherine Hill was described as a manipulative and dishonest woman - and lies were 'comfortable and easy' for her.

The prosecution said she was 'no stranger to chucking members of her family under the bus.'

The barrister said the pair are 'thoroughly dishonest' and had acted contrary to their roles as trustees for the youngsters' money.

He added that the pair were guilty of a 'blatant and brazen' fraud in respect of the inheritance.

Katherine Hill and Gerald Hill both deny fraud by abuse of position.

The trial at Swansea Crown Court continues.