A man posed as his dead stepfather to apply for loans and buy an Xbox, because he was angry at being left out of his will.

Liam Twine, 26, from Canvey, admitted setting up an account using the details of his dead stepdad Stephen Hales to order the £900 console and buy £83.28 worth of clothes from H&M.

He also admitted using Mr Hales’s details to try to obtain a £3,000 loan from Amigo Loans.

Twine, who has a nine-month-old son and another child on the way, was found out when the goods turned up at his mum Patricia’s home and a letter addressed to Mr Hales asked for the money for the Xbox.

She then contacted the different companies, who traced the computer’s IP address used to make the purchases, and discovered it belonged to her son, who lived at a different address on Canvey.

Matthew Bagnall, prosecuting, said the fraud was committed because Twine was angry at being left out of his stepfather’s will.

He said: “He had an estranged relationship with his mother and stepfather.

“Twine was arrested at his home address. He ran off and was found hiding in a shed.

“He was interviewed by police and said he knew nothing of the packages and said he was being set up by his family.”

Karl Volz, mitigating, said Twine was angry at his mum over a family dispute about how Mr Hales had been cared for.

He added Twine was very close to his stepdad and had bought the Xbox as a present for his younger brother Joe.

He said: “Using alcohol heavily at that time, he decided this was his way to gain revenge against her. The items were sent to his mother’s address where he had not lived for 12 years so he had no access to the items and he had no interest in receiving anything in relation to his dead stepfather’s inheritance.

“He was trying to ensure that the money was provided towards Joe and not going on holidays.”

The offences happened between September 26, 2013 and October 22, 2013, when Twine lived on Canvey.

He has since moved to Willow Way in Dovercourt.

Sentencing at Basildon Crown Court, Judge David Owen-Jones said: “This was a mean, deliberate and planned offence in order to spite and seek resentment towards your mother as a result of how you felt about being missed out of your stepfather’s will.

“I accept that you were fond of him and may have blamed your mother for what happened.

“This was bound to be found out - you were in no way likely to succeed. It was a feeling of pent up anger that you took out on your mother.”

He sentenced Twine to a six-week suspended sentence for three different fraud charges to run concurrently.

Twine was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and to pay an £80 victim surcharge.