A GAMBLING addict conned his mother out of almost £17,000 by pretending his debtors were holding him hostage, a court heard. Peter Ellison told his mother, Dorris he would be in grave danger if she did not transfer money into his bank account, Liverpool Crown Court was told. When Ellison, 39, was arrested, he admitted he had swindled his parents out of £100,000 during the last 15 years, said prosecutor Hannah Squire. Ellison, of The Woodlands, Birkenhead, pleaded guilty to six offences of obtaining money transfers by deception by falsely representing he was in danger. Miss Squire told the court: "Ellison obtained £16,800 by telling his mother he was in danger if he did not pay certain people the money." Last December he told his mother he had financial problems. She returned with him to Birkenhead and cleared his £3,000 debts. In March he said he was going to work, and when he did not return she realised he had gone to a casino. When a man arrived asking for the £995 Ellison owed him, she paid. Miss Squire said: "She then received a phone call from her son saying he needed £2,000 to pay a debt off, and until he paid it off he could not return. "He said he had an arrangement to meet certain men at Chester railway station and when he said he did not have the full amount, they bundled him into a black van." Mrs Ellison, who believed the threats were genuine, transferred the cash into his account and the next day, he called and said he needed more money, which she gave him. The court heard on April 9, he asked his father for £500 and he said they had no money left. Judge John Phipps ordered Ellison to do an intensive course for severe gambling addicts for six months and he will sentence Ellison on February 15 next year. The judge told him he would not go to prison if he was successful. | 
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