A granny who was drawn into a bizarre plot to defraud a bank out of almost £10,000 in foreign currency has been spared jail.

Jane Grant wept with relief as a judge imposed a community order with supervision, as well as a curfew.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the 63-year-old went into the Halifax Bank in Sittingbourne on April 1 after an internet request had been made for the Australian and Canadian dollars in the name of a customer called McConnell.

The bank's fraud team had already contacted the McConnell family to check if the request was genuine.

When told no such request had been made, the police were contacted.

Grant, of Drawbridge Close, Maidstone, posed as Mrs McConnell and produced a driving licence with her photograph on it in that name as proof.

She also had a bank card in the same name. When confronted, she admitted: "Alright, you've got me."

Grant, also known as Twort, claimed she had been contacted by her granddaughter's ex-boyfriend and was told to go to Sittingbourne railway station.

When she arrived, the man handed her an envelope with the driving licence, bank card and other papers inside.

Grant said she was told to go to the bank, hand over the documents and pick up the currency.

She thought it was suspicious but he threatened to shoot her if she did not do it.

As she walked down the High Street, the man walked in front of her. He waited outside the bank.

Grant admitted possessing false identity documents with intent.

Oliver Saxby, defending, said Grant was pressured into committing the offence, adding: "She is a vulnerable individual."

Mr Saxby told an earlier hearing Grant had serious blood pressure and kidney problems.

A judge had previously described it as "an extraordinary story", adding her actions were puzzling, and warning she should expect a prison sentence.

But Mr Recorder Edward Murray told Grant on Friday: "In my opinion your offence is serious enough to warrant a community order."

He ordered that the curfew should run from 8pm to 8am for two months, but tagging was not necessary.