A care assistant has appeared in court after being charged with stealing more than £4,650 from a bed-bound woman she used to look after.

Lisa York was charged by police after the cash went missing from the woman’s bank account between September 2021 and December 2022.

The 53-year-old was charged with stealing £4,670 from the woman she cared for.

When she appeared in court earlier this year, she entered a guilty plea in relation to the charge but only on the basis that she had not stolen the amount she had been charged with.

York, of Roehampton Close, Gravesend, pleaded guilty at Medway Magistrates’ Court on July 23 on the basis she only stole £1,000 from the victim.

At the time, the hearing was adjourned for a further case management hearing and York appeared at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court on September 2 where District Judge Stephen Leake heard her solicitor was asking for something called a Newton hearing to determine how much cash had been stolen.

Judge Leake was told the theft had come to light after the woman had looked at her bank statements and noticed the cash missing.

The charge states York stole £4,670 from her between September 12, 2021 and December 5, 2022.

Harpal Virdee, defending, said: “My client only accepts she stole £1,000 but the Crown (CPS) says it’s £4k.

“It’s an appropriate matter for a Newton hearing.”

Such a hearing is required in criminal proceedings when a defendant pleads guilty to an offence but there is disagreement with the prosecution as to the material facts on which the defendant should be sentenced.

During such a hearing, evidence is given by both parties and a judge or magistrates decide the basis on which they will pass sentence.

The burden of proof lies with the prosecution to satisfy the court beyond reasonable doubt that their version of events is correct.

The judge agreed the case was suitable for such a hearing and it will be held at the same court on April 30 next year.

York was granted bail until then.