A ‘mean’ former soldier stole more than £28,000 from his frail, elderly mother and spent much of it on funding his passion for Lego sets, a court heard today.
Martyn Walker, 55, is thought to have splashed out thousands of pounds from his dementia-ridden mother’s bank accounts on building up his huge hoard of building blocks.
His Facebook page has examples of his hobby, with one entry from October 2023 – during the period when he was swiping the cash – showing an £11.99 Halloween Cat and Mouse set aimed at children aged ‘9+’.
Walker’s caption revealed his glee, stating: ‘Nice little set brought [sic] this morning…
‘Liked it so much I got 2. Only took me 25 min to build but really good to have there on display.’
Walker could have been jailed but he was shown mercy by a judge who allowed him to walk from court with a suspended 18-month jail sentence despite his ‘particularly mean offence of theft’.
He was also ordered to do 180 hours unpaid work and to complete a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
The married father-of-two, who arrived at the Norwich Crown Court hearing on a motorised wheelchair, now faces being stripped of much of his ill-gotten Lego collection at a future Proceeds of Crime hearing.
Martyn Walker, 55, was described as ‘mean’ by a judge for stealing £28,000 from his own mother – much of which was used to fund his passion for Lego
He admitted two offences of stealing a total of £28,070 from his mother, Christine Hoggett, 83, at an earlier hearing last year.
The court heard he had stripped £16,095 from one of her Lloyds bank accounts between September 16, 2023, and July 20, 2024, and £11,975 from a second Lloyds account between January 17, 2023, and July 15, 2024.
Prosecutor Samantha Lowther said Mrs Hoggett used to have her own flat and carers but moved into The Martins care home in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, in October 2022 after being diagnosed with dementia.
She initially had capacity to control her own finances but eventually became unable to do so, leaving her son to look after her money and pay for her hairdresser visits and other personal care.
A care home manager contacted Walker in May 2024 when fees were outstanding and he admitted that he was ‘struggling’ with getting money together, Ms Lowther said.
The manager followed up her inquiry with a phone call and Walker emailed back and ‘admitted to spending his mother’s money and taking advantage of her’, leading to police being informed.
Walker, of Gorleston near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, was interviewed by police and admitted getting his mother’s PIN number to her bank cards when he took her to a bank to help her withdraw cash.
The court heard that the defendant had told her care home that he had power of attorney over her finances but had only completed the forms to apply for it.
During the period he was stealing from his mother, Walker bought this Halloween Cat and Mouse set aimed at children aged ‘9+’
The thief’s Facebook page shows how he put together small towns with his collection of the colourful building blocks
Tall storey: this towering building overlooks a street scene houses and shops, as well as cars, motorbikes, a helicopter and a railway line
Ms Lowther said Walker used the money to pay for petrol and shopping bills but added: ‘He has spent a lot of money on Lego’.
He was £24,000 in debt at the time, the prosecutor added, although his wife had not been aware of his debt.
The thefts ‘escalated’ over time, even though the defendant and his wife, who lived with their children aged 24 and 21, were both working.
Ms Lowther argued that the starting point for Walker’s sentencing was two years in custody due to his elevated level of culpability, which involved ‘a high breach of trust’.
The exact amount he blew on Lego, or whether he was buying specialist kits, was not revealed in court.
But the pictures on Walker’s Facebook page show he is a big fan of the colourful bricks and features several images of some of his collection dating back more than ten years.
The biographical information states he served with 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment from May 1988 to January 1993 and was previously with 202 Battalion Royal Artillery, believed to refer to 202 (Suffolk and Norfolk Yeomanry) Battery Royal Artillery.
Walker represented himself at the sentencing hearing, which was held at Norwich Magistrates Court due to it having better wheelchair access.
He appeared to be expecting a jail sentence as he told the judge: ‘I made a mistake your honour. I understand the implications. I am going to miss seeing my mum and my family.
Walker in fancy dress as 1960s cartoon character Fred Flintstone
‘My wife only just found out last week, the implications that are happening, but I couldn’t explain how it was going to go.
‘I was hoping to get maybe a tag or something. If not, it is what it is, I’m afraid. I took advantage and must pay for what I did.’
Walker also asked for time for him to be able to cancel medical appointments for his diabetes and the effects of a stroke if he was going to be jailed.
Judge David Pugh told him: ‘I am sentencing you for a particularly mean offence of theft from your 83-year-old mother who was in a care home and suffers from dementia’
Sentencing clearly fell within the high culpability category due to the ‘breach of a high degree of trust and deliberately targeting a vulnerable victim’, added Judge Pugh, who said there had also been an effect on the care home, which was not paid its fees.
But he concluded he would suspend the sentence for two years – although Walker was warned that he would still be subject to a Proceeds of Crime hearing, putting his Lego collection in jeopardy.
Walker refused to comment after the hearing.
Norfolk Police were unable to give any more details about Walker’s illicit Lego purchases.
Danish firm Lego, which was founded in 1949, is the largest toy manufacturer in the world by sales.
As of 2024, it had produced 1.1 trillion plastic pieces, with up to 60 billion new bricks being manufactured annually.
