A FOOTBALLER who claimed to be on the verge of joining Bolton Wanderers gambled £16,000 at a Mayfair casino using a card stolen from an 85-year-old pensioner, a court has heard.

Ex-West Ham winger Blair Turgott is accused of withdrawing the cash before exchanging it for chips during a night at the Playboy casino in central London’s Park Lane.

The 23-year-old cashed out £16,900 at the end of the night, leaving with a £900 profit, a jury was told.

Prosecutor Kaj Scarsbrook said the card used by Turgott, who is from Kent, had earlier been stolen from Peter Dixon by another fraudster posing as a bank employee.

Turgott appeared at Southwark Crown Court, where he denies fraud and converting criminal property on September 30, 2016.

He told jurors he was on the verge of signing for Wanderers when news of his arrest broke in January last year.

Turgott, who played for England at youth level, denied doing anything dishonest, claiming he was given the card and PIN number by a friend who owed him £16,000. The trial continues.