Solicitor milked people's wills

Phillip Huxtable: Overcharged to cover up crimes

A Devon solicitor faces jail after he was found guilty of stealing more than £250,000 from clients.

Philip Huxtable, 58, from Barnstaple, dipped into people's wills to fund an extravagant lifestyle.

The jury at Bournemouth Crown Court found Huxtable guilty of 11 counts of theft involving a total of £284,000.

He has been released on bail until 13 July when he will be sentenced. Judge Samuel Wiggs told the lawyer he would probably be facing a prison term.

Huxtable, sole practitioner at Pitts Tuckers in Barnstaple, was appointed to work on behalf of executors of wills when he began milking client accounts, the court heard.

It is an appalling breach of trust Joe Tucker, Pitts Tuckers Action Group Community pillar was a thief

He tried to cover up the thefts by overcharging. In one incident Huxtable charged the equivalent of £60,000 an hour for his services.

The father-of-one even billed one family for arranging a funeral which took place before he had been hired.

He was investigated in October 2001 after a complaint was made to the Law Society.

Joe Tucker, of the Pitts Tuckers Action Group, which represents Huxtable's victims, said: "He is a liar and a thief and has left dozens of families broken and distraught.

"He has cheated people who have known him for years, and known their fathers or mothers before them. It is an appalling breach of trust."