A FORMER bank manager from East Lancashire has been told he must repay more than £10,000 after systematically rifling a vulnerable pensioner’s savings account.

Matthew Hayhurst, 27, claimed he had only ‘borrowed’ the money from Dennis Taylor’s dormant Lloyds TSB account to fund a gambling addiction.

The father-of-one was a senior personal banking manager at the banking giant’s Peel Street branch in Accrington at the time.

He stole £91,000 from Mr Taylor’s savings before the pensioner blew the whistle on his spending spree, which resulted in an 18-month jail sentence.

But when he appeared before Burnley Crown Court for a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing, it was found Hayhurst only had £11,385 worth of realisable assets.

Judge Jonathan Gibson told him he must repay that sum within six months or serve a further seven-month jail term in default.

No fewer than 25 withdrawals were made from Mr Taylor’s account between June 2010 and October 2011 by Hayhurst, of Cotman Close, off Rochdale Road, Britannia, near Bacup.

Hayhurst, who had worked for Lloyds TSB since 2006, had developed a sports betting fixation and was said to be ‘deeply remorseful’ for his actions.

He also admitted a charge of fraud by abuse of trust.