East Lancashire pensioner, 86, has told of his love for prostitute who robbed him (From Lancashire Telegraph)

East Lancashire pensioner, 86, has told of his love for prostitute who robbed him

11:52am Thursday 21st March 2013 in News By Vanessa Cornall, Crime reporter

AN 86-year-old has told of his love for a prostitute who stole £600 of his savings.

Richard Scott had been a regular customer of 26-year-old Amanda West’s when she took the cash he planned to use to buy new furniture, Blackburn Magistrates’ Court heard.

This week she was convicted of theft following a trial and jailed her for 22 weeks because magistrates said she had breached the trust of her victim.

Mr Scott, a father-of-four, said: “I was married to my wife for 54 years and I loved her very much. But I also loved Amanda, I thought she was a lovely girl.

“If she hadn’t stolen from me I would still be seeing her now.

“Yes, I was intimate with her but it wasn’t all about that.

“For me it was about the companionship.”

Carl Gaffney, prosecuting, said West, of Royd Street, Accrington, and Mr Scott had a ‘professional’ relationship.

“He paid her for professional services,” said Mr Gaffney. “She is a prostitute and he, from time to time, over a 12 month period, had cause to utilise these services.”

He said it was accepted during the trial that she had been present in a professional capacity on the day the money went missing.

“There is clearly a breach of trust, whatever the connection between these two people,” said Mr Gaffney. “She has taken advantage of his trusting nature and his age.”

Speaking from his home in Accrington following the sentence, Mr Scott, said: “I am glad Amanda has been sent to prison.

“I don’t normally carry around large sums of cash, but that day she stole my wallet she was lucky because I was going to buy some furniture.

“I feel hurt by her betrayal. I thought we were more than friends.

“She would come here three or four times a week and sometimes we would watch TV and have something to eat and other times we would go to bed.

“She was sexy. Sometimes she would literally pull me into the bedroom. Amanda has a lovely body.”

Mr Scott said he had on occasions paid West for her services, but on several occasions her payment would be food or cigarettes.

The unlikely couple met in a small park behind Express Gifts in Accrington four years ago while Mr Scott had been out walking.

Mr Scott said the then 22-year-old prostitute approached him, asking where he lived and for money for cigarettes.

A couple of days later she then turned up at his home.

Initially, the pair just spent time together as ‘friends’ before the relationship developed.

The grandfather said the relationship became rocky after the former drug addict brought her boyfriend to his home one afternoon.

Mr Scott, a retired foundry employee at Howard and Bullough in Accrington, said: “One afternoon I saw Amanda walking towards my house and she was being followed by a man.

“When she arrived I asked her who he was and she said it was her boyfriend.

“I was shocked. She had never told me she had a boyfriend before.

“I only found out Amanda was a prostitute when I asked her why she didn’t work during the day.

“She said she had her ‘rounds’ to keep her busy. I couldn’t believe she was one of them - a prostitute, she was such a nice girl.”

Kristian Cavanagh, defending, said West had made considerable progress in recent months with a drug addiction.

He said: “She says she is no longer a sex worker which, given the length of time she has been engaged in that profession, is quite an achievement.”

A Lancashire police spokesman said: “This is a serious offence committed against an elderly man in his own home. She has completely betrayed his trust and I’m pleased she will now face the consequences of her actions.”