A cleaner at a residential home has been jailed for stealing more than £9,000 from a frail 82-year-old woman.

Cindy Dally took £9,400 from the pensioner's bank account over a two-week period and spent most of it by the time she was arrested for theft

The 41-year-old, of Wix Road, Ramsey, was told by a Chelmsford Crown Court judge it had been a "very mean series of thefts from a particulary vulnerable woman".

She was jailed for a total of 15 months. Dally claimed she had permission to take the money as she was a joint account holder and denied eight charges of theft. But a jury at Chelmsford Crown Court convicted her after a trial last month. Sentence had been adjourned for reports.

The trial heard pensioner Margaret Demaill lived at the Quenby residential home in Brightlingsea Road, Thorrington, where Dally worked as a domestic cleaner.

Last March, Dally went to Lloyds TSB in Brightlingsea with forms to make her a joint bank account holder with Miss Demaille.

The following month, between April 11 and 24, she made seven £200 withdrawls from a cashpoint and an £8,000 withdrawal from the bank, the jury heard.

The thefts came to light when Miss Demaille received a letter from the bank mentioning the joint bank account.

Miss Demaille gave her evidence from a wheelchair in court and she told the jury there had been no gifts to Dally and no agreement for a joint bank account.

Dally told the court she began doing shopping trips for Miss Demaille and this led on to her collecting her mail from her Colchester home, cleaning it and trying to rent it out.

Dally said Miss Demaille said she wanted to give her a "gift" for all the help Dally had been. It was £10,000.

She also claimed Miss Demaille had agreed to the joint account and had signed forms from her bank allowing this.

Andre de Moller, mitigating, said there was little he could say as Dally continued to deny the thefts Last Updated on Mon 27 January 19103 at 14:5

Published Monday, January 27, 2003

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