A callous hospital worker has been sent to prison after stealing thousands from a wheelchair-bound pensioner - who she claimed was a father figure to her.

Darent Valley Hospital worker Wareewan Lee befriended victim 83-year-old Gerald Beach and then milked more than £12,000 from him during a two-year period.

She has now received a jail sentence of two years and three months.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the 44-year-old started taking 'hundreds of pounds' from cashpoints shortly after a £7,524 PPI payment was made in August 2016.

Within a month the total was just £4,800 and the account, which also received monthly deposits from the Department of Work and Pensions, held just £4.18 by June 2018.

Lee denied stealing the money telling police Mr Beach was 'like a father' to her and she used the money to pay his bills.

Prosecutor Eleanor Scott-Davies said Lee had deliberately targeted the pensioner because of his vulnerability.

"If Mr Beach had been able to go out, do his shopping and other day-to-day chores, Lee would never have been able to commit this offence," she said.

"It was because he was housebound and living in limited circumstances that she had access to the bank card."

Lee, from Orsett near Grays in Essex, denied theft but was found guilty by a 10 to two majority verdict at a trial in April.

Judge Philip St John-Stevens said Lee had told 'palpable lies' to the court.

He also said that while Mr Beach had 'placed great trust' in her, she had 'monitored' his bank account to 'callously extract' money.

"This defendant was aware that Mr Beach was vulnerable and relied on others to look after him," said the judge.

"She knew that he did not look at bank statements, and there was targeting of Mr Beach because of his vulnerability and his inability to monitor that account."

The offence was not related to Lee's employment at the hospital.

The court heard she met Mr Beach in 2006 while delivering dinners to him at his retirement housing complex in Aylesford.

She said she then started to care for him without any payment and while holding down two jobs and looking after her young children.

Lee also lived with Mr Beach at his flat for four years.

A fellow resident, Shirley Bedford, told the court she alerted social services in 2018 when she became shocked by Mr Beach's financial state. She also described Lee as having 'a hold' on the pensioner.

Mr Beach did not attend court but gave evidence in a pre-recorded interview.

He said Lee helped around his home before offering to do his 'banking and shopping', for which he gave her permission to use his Nationwide account.

But he said he did not know how she knew the PIN to his Lloyds account and never asked her to withdraw cash from it.

He said the money had been 'for a rainy day'.

'She knew that he did not look at bank statements...'

Lee maintained she had claimed that she simply cared for Mr Beach.

"I looked after him. He was like a father to me and it's very upsetting," she told the jury.

"Gerry gave me the (bank) card, told me the PIN and told me to get the money out for him, and I did and I gave him the receipt every time.

"I didn't keep it for myself. I used it for Gerry's purposes."

Her barrister John Barker said Lee had expressed remorse and concern for the pensioner but still did not accept she had acted dishonestly.

He said she now stood to lose her job despite being highly regarded by others and "setting a shining example in her professional life".

The court heard Lee was the sole carer for her disabled partner, who supported her in court throughout her trial.