A therapist accused of stealing more than £1.5m from his wealthy mother has been cleared of theft following a prosecution brought by his sister.

Jonathan Feld, 62, of of Chatsworth Road, Kilburn, was accused by Louise Radley of helping himself to 89-year-old Hannah Feld’s life savings after she became too ill to look after her financial affairs.

Southwark Crown Court heard he bought an £80,000 Porsche, withdrew bundles of cash from ATMs and went on shopping sprees for “skinny jeans and puffer jackets”.

Feld denied two charges of theft from his mother, who was said to be suffering from “significant cognitive decline”, claiming any money was a gift from Mrs Feld, with whom he still has an “excellent” relationship.

Mrs retired to Tel Aviv, Israel, with her late husband Monty – who died in 2010 – after selling the family clock and watch firm.

Giving evidence, Mr Feld said he was banned from his sister’s home in around 2006 and said their relationship was: “Fraught. Frightening. Non-existent.”

He was cleared last week of stealing £1.3m from a joint Swiss bank account in his and Mrs Feld’s names between May 2015 and November 2017 after Judge Gregory Perrins directed the jury: “As a matter of law it is not legally theft to effectively steal from yourself.”

On Tuesday (September 13), he was cleared of a further charge of theft relating to almost £270,000 allegedly stolen from his mother’s Israeli Bank Leumi account between October 2014 and September 2017.

Mr Feld clutched his chest, wept and clasped his hands in prayer after the verdict.

Speaking outside court, he thanked his legal team and said: “I’m looking forward to spending time with my family and my mum and the verdict speaks for itself.”

A statement from Stephen Fidler and Co Solicitors, the firm representing Feld’s sister, said: “There was no dispute [Mr Feld] received considerable funds but the jury were clearly not satisfied so that they could be sure he acted dishonestly.”

The statement added: “It was always the aim of the prosecutor in this case, Louise Radley, to seek justice for her mother and not seek anything for herself but to recover monies to be used in the provision of care for her mother Hannah who is unable to care for herself.”