Shirebrook carer stole £1,500 from Clowne client after running up slimming pill debt

Sarah Allen, aged 49, stole the vulnerable Clowne householder’s bank card and pin code – withdrawing £250 in cash at a time from cash points, Chesterfield Magistrates’ Court heard.

Alice Hornsby, prosecuting, said Allan was identified after being caught on CCTV taking the funds from a Tesco ATM.

She said: “The victim discovered some payments had gone missing from an account which is not used for withdrawals.

“Allen was one of two carers for her husband – she spoke to care staff and they reported the matter to police.”

Ms Hornsby said Allen’s victim had suspected she was thieving as she was buying a house and was short of cash and had been ‘going out for meals and so on’.

She said: “The victim cannot explain how on earth Allen got hold of her pin code.”

Allen, of Carnation Road, Shirebrook, admitted theft.

Kirsten Collings, mitigating, said Allen, who had no previous convictions, ‘cannot explain why she made the decision she did’.

She said: “She had been married for a significant period of time and has two children. There was an issue between her and her husband.

“He had an affair and effectively left her feeling it was her fault because she had not been taking care of herself.

“She used her overdraft to pay for slimming pills to improve the way she looked and it spiralled from there.

“She’s a church-goer and there’s so much that makes her an upstanding citizen until she made this decision and took the actions she took.”

Sentencing, District Judge Jonathan Taaffe told Allen: “This is a sad case in a number of ways.

“It’s sad for yourself because you are a woman approaching her 50th birthday who has never troubled the courts or the police.

“Stealing this card and money is something you will forever regret. However, the reality is there’s a gross breach of trust.”

Allen was jailed for 26 weeks, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to carry out 120 hours unpaid work and pay £1,500 compensation.