A "cruel" mum who pilfered more than a quarter of a million pounds from an elderly neighbour - described as a second mother to her - has been jailed for more than three and half years.

Helen Pavitt, 51, from Rainham, stole £256,863 from frail Joy Millen, 87, in just three months and wiped out her life savings.

Pavitt bought a £50,000 mobile home from the money she gained, got £100,000 worth of premium bonds, repaid debts and transferred some of the money to other family members.

She took the life-savings via standing orders, cheques and bank transfers. The savings were taken from a number of bank accounts belonging to the victim.

Mrs Millen's bank became suspicious such large amounts of cash started to be withdrawn from the accounts.

The pensioner was suffering from minor dementia at the time of the incidents. Her family have said it is now more serious.

The bank asked Mrs Millen about the cheques and standing order but she told them she knew nothing about them.

Pavitt had accompanied the victim on a visit to the bank but the police were aware and arrested her at the branch after evidence pointed to her.

She was arrested and later charged and at a previous hearing pleaded guilty to three offences of theft between May 3 and August 1 2017.

Judge Julian Smith sentenced her to three years and seven months in prison and described her offending as a "depletion of the victim's estate by a truly significant sum".

He said it was "dramatic and highly impactful" offending from the defendant who was a "second mum" to the victim.

Judge Smith said: "It's three months. It's a dramatic amount of money to take in a short amount of time.

"This is grave offending, £250,000 is a significant sum. You exploited a relationship with a neighbour and one time friend and her trust in you.

"It's a very substantial sum of money."

Pavitt, of Chestfield Close, showed no emotion as she was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court.

Prosecutor Bridget Todd said Pavitt stole the money in three lumps of £126,224 , £62,617, and £68,022 .

She told the court: "Joy Millen was 87. Her husband died some years ago and she lived in her house alone. The defendant and her husband were in affect neighbours. They would help her out on occasion."

She told the court Pavitt went on to "systematically" withdrew cash and was "wiping out Mrs Millen's life savings."

Family members of Mrs Millen branded Pavitt "cruel and disgusting" outside court.

One close family member, who did not want to be named, said: "Joy is a lovely woman and she was targeted at her most vulnerable.

"What Pavitt has done is cruel, vicious and manipulative. It was disgusting. She is very cruel. It's disgusting.

"How can you target somebody who was so vulnerable? It's absolutely awful.

"Joy is nowhere near the same as she was. This has been a horrendous experience for her knowing somebody she trusted could do that to her.

"Her savings have been snatched away from her. If Pavitt had money problems why couldn't she work towards paying them off like everybody else does in life?

"We're not happy with the sentence. It should have been much longer. It's disgraceful."

In mitigation, Annie Johnstone, said Pavitt has a 13-year-old son. She said Pavitt was of good character and is remorseful for what she did.