A Holbeach woman stole £460 from a 78-year-old woman with dementia she was supposed to have been helping, a court heard.
Jane Denise Smith (58), of Cherry Tree Caravan Park, admitted stealing the money from elderly couple James and Shirley Taylor over two occasions in May, when she appeared at Boston Magistrates Court.
Prosecuting, Dan Pietryka said Miss Smith was voluntarily helping out with Mrs Taylor, who has dementia, and she had access to her bank card and PIN number so she could buy shopping for her.
He said that on May 8 she took £210 for herself and on May 22 took a further £250.
The police were informed when Mrs Taylor’s son realised what had happened and Miss Smith told officers she regretted what she had done.
Mitigating, Lloyd Edwards said it was a “very sad case” as Miss Smith had never been in trouble before and felt ashamed of herself.
He said she did struggle to make ends meet but “for reasons she can’t explain, she took out money for herself when she was getting something for Mrs Taylor”.
He said the police had offered her a caution provided she repaid the money within three months, but she had not been able to do that as she could not afford it.
After hearing from the Probation Service, the magistrates ordered Miss Smith to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work for the community and to undertake ten days rehabilitation.
She was also ordered to repay the £460 to Mrs Taylor.
