A carer who stole thousands of pounds from people with learning disabilities has been ordered to repay every penny – or go to prison.

Laura Hancock, from Ramsgate, tricked vulnerable users of Seeds Care into handing over cash and also misused a company credit card as she pocketed more than £17,500.

The 33-year-old, who used the money to fund a long-standing gambling addiction, was spared prison when she appeared at Canterbury Crown Court for sentence in July last year.

But in front of the same judge on Thursday, she was ordered under the Proceeds of Crime Act to compensate her victims in full.

She must therefore pay £17,623 within three months or serve 10 months in jail in default.

The court was told Hancock has realisable assets amounting to that figure, but no further details as to what those assets are were given.

Hancock, who stood in the dock, thanked Judge Simon Taylor KC as he wished her good luck in the future.

The Stirling Way resident had previously been given a two-year prison term suspended for two years, with 250 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation activity requirements.

The court on that occasion heard Hancock was a service manager at the Broadstairs facility - which supports people living in their homes - when she carried out her deception.

She tricked clients into handing over money she claimed they needed to withdraw from ATMs, or callously pocketed cash they had been sent by their families.

Hancock also used the company credit card and helped herself to money from savings tins.

She later confessed to her bosses and subsequently pleaded guilty to five charges of theft and three of fraud by abuse of position between March 2020 and September 2021.

The court was told Hancock took one victim – Kallum Ryder - to an ATM to withdraw cash under the guise of paying his rent.

It was later discovered Mr Ryder had no rent payments to make and had been swindled to the tune of £3,980.

Another victim, Craig Fuller, told KentOnline Hancock had been “getting money out of me like it was water”.

“She took loads of cash out of my savings tin,” he said.

“It had taken me a very long time to save up that money - a very, very long time.

“I knew there was something fishy about her from the beginning - I knew it!

“She literally betrayed me. It makes me think I don’t want to trust anyone anymore.

“For what she’s done she should have gone straight to jail. It feels to me that she’s getting away with this and it’s not fair.”

Seeds Care director Angela Rankin told the court in a victim impact statement that her former colleague's crimes were "despicable and unforgivable".

All six clients that Hancock targeted were said to have been reimbursed by Seeds Care so the compensation she has now been ordered to pay is expected to go direct to the company.