A FRAIL 79-year-old was left destitute and dishevelled after friends began collecting his pension and keeping the bulk of it for themselves, a court heard.

The disabled pensioner says he was forced to live in one room of his home and took out a loan to pay heating bills as he was left with just £21 a week.

Lee Renton and Mark McCarthy are said to have "befriended and exploited" the cancer sufferer and stole almost £18,000 from him over a three-year period.

Mr Renton, of Etherley Close, and Mr McCarthy, of Carville Court, both Stockton, each deny four charges of theft and are on trial at Teesside Crown Court.

A jury of seven men and five women heard that the friends told the pensioner his £180-a-week benefits had been cut by the 'Ministry of Pensions'.

Giving evidence over a live video-link today (Wednesday, July 29), he told the court the men would sometimes shop for groceries for him and give him change out of his £21.

He denied defence barristers' claims that his allegation was false, and disputed that he had a dependence on alcohol and drank cider every day with others.

Three of the charges relate to a loan application he is said to have been given help to fill in as he cannot read or write, and was then told it had been turned down.

Prosecutor Liam O'Brien said Mr Renton, 29, and 48-year-old Mr McCarthy kept the money themselves, and allowed the pensioner to borrow from them.

The allegations came to light when a housing officer from Stockton Borough Council visited the flat, found the man dishevelled and asked if he was okay.

The official raised the alarm with police after the tenant claimed he had been left with little to live on every week, Mr O'Brien told the court.

Duncan McReddie, defending Mr Renton, said as he cross-examined the pensioner: "I suggest what you have said about your pension is a false allegation."

The man insisted that he was telling the truth, and said he had not raised the alarm for three years because he believed the story about his pension cut.

"I trusted them," he said. "I thought they were my friends."

The trial continues.