A GWENT father stole more than £16,000 from a fund founded to help his son fight a degenerative disease which eventually claimed his life, a court heard yesterday.

Julian Emms, 46, is on trial at Cardiff Crown Court where he denies one count of fraud by abuse of position in August 2010.

Emms is accused of stealing £16,500 from the Michael Emms Fund, which was set up in 2007 to fund treatment for Emms’ son Michael after he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

Michael, from Caerwent, was the UK’s youngest motor neurone disease sufferer when he was diagnosed at the age of 20.

Family and friends across Gwent raised cash for pioneering stem cell treatment in China, with stem cells donated by his baby half-brother Rhys.

But despite having the procedure in 2007, Michael died on April 15, 2011, aged 23.

Jury members heard yesterday that on August 30 2010, Julian Emms, of Southbank, Beaufort, Ebbw Vale, went to the home of Michael’s grandparents Ann and David Brandon - the parents of Emms’ former wife Teresa - and asked Mrs Brandon for two blank cheques to take Michael to New York.

Mrs Brandon said she and Emms were two of four signatories on the Lloyds TSB bank account for the Michael Emms Fund, and each cheque had to be signed by two signatories.

Mrs Brandon said Emms told her he was not sure how much the holiday and travel insurance would cost, so she made out two blank cheques to Ebbw Vale travel agent Travel Care.

But after discussing the matter with her husband, Mrs Brandon said she had second thoughts and the following day Mr Brandon asked Emms to return the cheques.

On September 1 2010, Mrs Brandon said Emms came to her house to return the cheques, but as she went to take them Emms snatched them, set fire to them with a lighter and “stormed off”.

On September 2, Mrs Brandon said she went to Lloyds TSB in Caldicot and was “devastated” to find £16,500 had been removed from the account on August 31, and just £1,300 was left.

Prosecutor Meirion Davies said no holiday was ever bought, and it was the prosecution’s case one of the cheques in Emms’ hand on September 1 was a blank piece of paper.

Mr Davies said Emms cashed one of the real cheques, altering the payee from Travel Care to “cash”.

David Brandon told the court Emms telephoned him on August 31, and said he had “done something bad” and needed money.

Gwent Police Detective Constable Amy Morgan said when she arrested Emms at his home on September 2, 2010 on suspicion of theft, he said “It’s not here, I’ve spent it”.

Proceeding.