by Keith Hunt

A former carer who conned an elderly and vulnerable woman out of £6,000 and stole £5,500 from a work colleague has been jailed for 21 months.

A judge described Marion Bassett's fleecing of Alzheimer's sufferer Mary Borland as "one of the grossest breaches of trust one can imagine".

Bassett, of Wells Close, Leigh, Sevenoaks, had previously worked for an agency as a carer and looked after Mrs Borland's husband until his death in 2002.

Maidstone Crown Court heard Bassett, 58, left the agency but renewed contact with Mrs Borland, who was in her mid-80s, in 2007.

Ian Hope, prosecuting, said in July that year Bassett cashed a cheque for £6,000 drawn on Mrs Borland's bank account. The victim had no memory of writing it.

Mrs Borland, of Riverside Court, Lyons Crescent, Tonbridge, was in poor health at the time and has since died.

The other offences involved Annette Bass, who was working as an assistant chef manager at Hillview School for Girls in Tonbridge with Bassett.

Mrs Bassett's debit card went missing and it was used the next day at Dunelm Mill store in Maidstone.

CCTV showed a woman with a walking stick and shopping trolley, believed to be Bassett.

The victim later recalled that Bassett kept asking her to go shopping with her.

When she did so, Bassett looked at her PIN and then used the card to steal cash and buy shopping totalling £2,500 in 10 days.

Mr Hope said Bassett's account showed she had gone from being £1,600 overdrawn to £800 in credit and that £7,000 went in over a two month period.

She had debt recovery letters seeking repayment of £46,000.

The prosecutor said Bassett, who admitted fraud and theft, had 15 previous convictions for 43 offences, dating back to 1973.

She did not offend for 20 years and was then convicted of theft and forgery, involving taking money from a charity shop where she was working.

She was on bail for those matters when she committed the latest offences.

Andrew Lewis, defending, said Bassett had suffered serious injuries when run over by a car.

Judge Andrew Patience QC told Bassett: "These offences were mean and, in the case of Mrs Borland, an old lady who clearly was highly vulnerable, as you well knew, one of the grossest breaches of trust one can imagine."