The home of a disabled grandmother has been ransacked by thieves as she battles Covid-19 in hospital.

Carole Jamieson, 58, broke down in tears after being told her flat in Faversham had been turned over and a number of valuable items stolen.

Her granddaughter Shania Luton, 20, discovered burglars had rifled through her home in Love Lane, stealing two TVs, cash and games consoles.

She pondered whether to break the news to her nan, who is currently "fighting for her life" at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford having been diagnosed with coronavirus.

"We were questioning whether we should tell her or not, but obviously she has a right to know," said Shania.

"When we told her in hospital, she broke down, and was asking 'why me? what have I done to deserve this?'"

The grandmother-of-four, who finds it hard to walk due to her pre-existing conditions, had already spent two weeks in in hospital last month with serious breathing problems thought to be pneumonia.

Shania said: "She already has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lymphedema in her legs which makes it very hard for her to get about.

"At one point, my mum had a phone call to say they didn't think she would make it through the night. It was awful."

But "by a miracle", Carole began to recover and was last week allowed to return to her home, within a block of flats for elderly and disabled people.

A few days after her return however, Shania visited Carole to help put her into bed, and found her looking "very ill".

"She was taken back to hospital, and that's when we found out the horrible news that she'd tested positive for Covid," said Shania.

Since then, Carole has remained in a serious condition in hospital.

But things worsened for the grandmother yesterday morning, when Shania arrived at her flat to find her front door unlocked.

"I came up to let in a healthcare assistant who was fitting a special mattress, to help with my Nan's back pain when she can return home," Shania explained.

"As I went into the front room, I noticed it was an absolute mess and that things had been taken. Both her TVs were missing."

Thieves had climbed in through the ground-floor flat's kitchen window, "turning it upside down" as they searched for valuables.

"They took two TVs, her Samsung Galaxy tablet, her Nintendo DS," added Shania, who says the consoles are vital to her grandma, who finds it hard to leave the house on her swollen legs.

"They took her purse too, which had £100 in cash in, and pictures and memorial cards."

The burglars also stole pots Carole had spent years filling with coppers, silvers and pound coins.

Shania said: "My nan doesn't really go out - because of the lymphedema in her legs she's always indoors. She's no trouble. It's just so horrible."

In a heartfelt post on Facebook, she told the thieves: "Robbing from a disabled elderly woman does not make you 'hard' or clever.

"This has absolutely devastated my Nan and set her back a lot as it would anyone.

"She is heartbroken to say the least. She has now got to start all over again - she has spent most of her life saving the limited amount of money she receives for her disability."

Shania has launched a fundraising page, through which she hopes to raise £500 to help Carole buy a security camera and to replace some of the stolen items.

Police are investigating the burglary, which is thought to have taken place between 1pm on May 9, and 11am on May 13.

Anyone with any information that could assist officers is asked to call the police on 101 quoting reference 46/80990/20.

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