THOUSANDS of pounds were taken from a schoolboy’s trust fund by his dead mother’s partner.

Police say up to £50,000 is unaccounted for.

Sharon Woods made Timothy John Murphy, aged 54, the sole executor and trustee of her seven-year-old son’s trust fund when she made her last will and testament in September, 2006. She had instructed that her entire estate be left to her son, Cameron, and told Murphy, with whom she had started a new life, that she wanted it all to go into the trust until Cameron reached the age of 21.

But when Sharon, who was divorced from Cameron’s father, Carl Woods, died suddenly due to complications with pain relief medication in November, 2007, Murphy began to dip into the fund and pocketed huge sums of money.

Murphy, of Walmsley Road, Bury, was only caught when Mr Woods, who was given custody of his son when Sharon died, began to ask questions about what he was doing with his exwife’s estate.

Murphy, who appeared at Bolton Crown Court yesterday and has pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position, went into hiding and it took about 18 months before Mr Woods was able to track him down and have a summons issued on him, forcing him to provide the key information.

“I knew he wasn’t playing ball and he was up to something,” said Mr Woods, aged 42, from Westhoughton.

Police said that in January, Murphy provided a partially completed affidavit, in which he said £11,000 had been taken from a bank account he had set up for Cameron and put into his own personal account.

Further police investigations revealed more than £50,000 from the estate of Sharon Woods unaccounted for.

Murphy could not say what the money had been spent on.

Mr Woods reported the matter to the police and Murphy was arrested in February and interviewed under caution.

He was then bailed pending further investigations during which time he made five further withdrawals totalling £2,450 from the account of Cameron Woods.

The case was adjourned for sentence on November 26.

Murphy was granted bail.