An elderly woman who took pity on a man she had met at a Margate store was then fleeced by him.

The good Samaritan met devious Shaun Wright in Boots in the High Street last year and made meals for him and asked him to do odd jobs as she recovered from a hip operation.

However, the 30-year-old fraudster repaid her by sneaking her bank card out and withdrawing £300 a time to feed his One Armed Bandit gaming machine addiction - and then returning it.

Prosecutor Keith Yardy said the woman only discovered his thieving after receiving a bank letter telling her £4,570 had vanished from the account in just three weeks.

The victim – who was in court to watch Wright being jailed – revealed feeling “pig sick and angry” after being betrayed by Wright, of New Cross Street, Margate.

She told police that previously she didn’t feel she was a weak person, but now felt these events had “killed her”.

Wright, who has 11 previous convictions including burglary, wept in the dock as the judge heard how he had given his victim a sob story about his family life.

"This was a nasty, very unpleasant catalogue of offending against a woman you had befriended and then took advantage of" - Recorder Gareth Branston

Prosecutor Keith Yardy said the victim felt sorry for him and took pity on him, offering him simple work at her home and making him meals.

“When she received the bank letter on March 30 she was shocked," Mr Yardy said.

“She realised Wright was the only person who had access to her bank card.

“He had taken it, misused it and then replaced it.

“Wright was arrested and told a police officer ‘To be completely honest, it has been me’.

“He said the reason for doing it was because of his gambling addiction but he had not set out to steal from her, telling police ‘I saw an easy option and took it’,” Mr Yardy added.

Simon Taylor, defending, said Wright, who admitted the fraud, couldn’t cope with his gambling addiction “which shows just how low he has sunk."

He added: "It was a deplorable piece of criminality.

"He has expressed his genuine remorse which I am sure rings hollow to the victim of this crime.”

Jailing him for 20 months, the judge, Recorder Gareth Branston, told him: “Your victim feels, accurately, that you targeted her while she was at her weakest.

“You abused your position of trust with someone who thought of you as a friend. This was a nasty, very unpleasant catalogue of offending against a woman you had befriended and then took advantage of.”

The court heard that Barclays Bank had since reimbursed the victim – but the judge ordered Wright to repay the bank within three years. He also ordered him not to contact his victim for five years.