A retired window cleaner, who inherited £300,000 from one of his elderly customers, could be jailed after ignoring a judge's order to hand the money back to her family.

Albert Pearce was left the fortune, when 98-year-old, Julie Spalding, changed her will, bequeathing him her bungalow and £60,000 in savings.

In 2014 her nephew, Cecil Bray, 82, successfully challenged the will, and Mr Pearce was told to hand back the full amount.

But instead, the 83-year-old was declared bankrupt after claiming he had spent or lost the entire fortune.

Now Mr Pearce faces a possible prison sentence after being accused of lying about what he did with the money.

The pensioner from Finchley, in north London, allegedly squirrelled away hundreds of thousands of pounds in various bank accounts, in an attempt to make it appear as if he was broke.

During a hearing at the High Court in London it was alleged that Mr Pearce had kept the money in his family though a "chain of transactions".

But he also accused of lying about losing £300,000, by stating it had been in the boot of his car when it was repossessed.