A Maidstone United footballer who used a stolen bank card to withdraw £16,000 to buy casino chips claims he was given the card to repay a debt.

Blair Turgott visited the Playboy Casino in Park Lane, central London, and withdrew two lots of gambling chips worth around £8,000 using a card taken in a scam earlier that day, Southwark Crown Court was told.

The 23-year-old ex-West Ham United player and former England youth international - who last week said he felt divine intervention brought him to the Gallagher Stadium - made £900 profit from placing bets later that day, the court heard.

The stolen card was taken from pensioner Peter Dixon who handed over the card before money was withdrawn and converted into casino chips.

The 85-year-old believed the thief was from his bank and was taking the card so a new one could be issued at around 2pm to 4pm on September 30, 2016.

Jurors heard the stolen £16,000 made up the families' life-savings.

Turgott, who is on loan at the Stones from Boreham Wood, claims the card was given to him by a friend called "Ali" who he leant £16,000 for a job interview in property development in Uganda.

After delays of around seven months in repaying, Turgott says Ali then handed him Mr Dixon's card and claimed it was his friend who was letting him use it because he lost his own one.

Turgott was then shown WhatsApp messages that said "bro I have sent the money", as proof he had permission to use the card.

Giving evidence from the witness box, Turgott said: "I met Ali through a friend, and we started hanging around, going to the casinos.

"He always had a lot of money, he seemed a wealthy person, he said he was doing property development in England and Uganda.

"He knew who I was straight away and thought I was doing well.

"There was a job interview that came up and he said he couldn't pay the money in full so I leant him the money.

"I trusted him so initially lent him £5,000 and it accumulated to the rest.

"He said he would pay me back but it got to the point where there was always an excuse. I kept trying but then he went missing.

"Then on September 30 he said he can pay me in full. I met him outside the casino and he gave me a card with Mr Dixon on it.

"I was confused but he reassured me it was his friend's card. He said he didn't have his credit card on him so said he had his friend's card and he's going to send him the money to pay me back.

"He showed me messages on WhatsApp that had a PIN in the message.

"After I saw that conversation I felt reassured it was fine to use it."

Turgott then withdrew two lots of £8,000 from the casino machines, with a £400 fee, and gambled for around an hour, the court heard.

He then met Ali at a nearby Nobu restaurant and handed Mr Dixon's card back to him.

After staring his career at the Hammers' youth academy, Turgott then says he went to Leyton Orient after the reserve team manager from West Ham moved to their east London neighbours.

Jurors heard Turgott is a member of five casinos in total, including Playboy Casino, Empire Casino, Aspers Casino In Westfield, Stratford, and the Hippodrome in Leicester Square, regularly buying in for around £2,800 and £4,000 each visit.

He added: "I played for the first team (of West Ham) I was around the first team but I was in the reserve team and the academy.

"I played for England up to under 19 level and went to the World Cup. The money was good at the time.

"I was about to go to Bolton, there was a lot of interest in the January window but when this came out in the papers that put a stop to it."

The man seen leaving the Dixon's home with the bank card was described as "white, mid-20s".

Victim Mr Dixon said in a written statement: "I was deceived into providing my bank card by a person claiming to be from my bank.

"He stated he wanted to take my card so new cards could be issued the following Monday.

"He said an appointment was made at the bank in Gloucester Road to get new cards.

"At the time I genuinely felt it was legitimate and he didn't concern me.

"My wife expressed some concerns about what I had done.

"Substantial funds had been withdrawn from our account.

"We were intending for our children to inherit that money. I was horrified when I found out and felt foolish I had been deceived and handed my card over."

The court heard after Turgott was alleged to have used the card it was used for another five fraudulent transactions between September 30 and October 3.

These included £4,500 and £4,900 which was transferred into the account from an ISA - and were not Mr Dixon.

An unknown man called Barclays and claimed he tried to withdraw £6,000 from the account, but it had been declined at the casino.

A further £300 was taken from a cash machine in Belgravia, and a £29 card payment which was also declined, none of which was Turgott.

Turgott answered "no comment" during police interviews, then said a man called Ali Sempijah, nicknamed "skully" gave him the card, jurors were told.

The defendant also handed over an address in Canning Town, east London, for the Ugandan man but the address did not exist when police initially went to investigate.

A trace of a phone number given for "Ali" led to an Ali Lawanga who through solicitors agreed to go to a voluntary police interview, but he never turned up.

The court heard a telephone match led to another address but a woman was "reluctant" to hand over details of her son.

Police efforts to trace Ali since have been unsuccessful.

Jurors were told Turgott has no previous convictions except for one of careless driving in 2014.

Turgott denies fraud.

The trial continues.

Maidstone United declined to comment.