A SENIOR carer who spent a year helping herself to the £21,000 life savings of a pensioner with dementia, has been jailed for eight months.

Mother-of-two Bernadette Launder, 40, claimed she at first started taking cash belonging to vulnerable 82-year-old Mildred Rigby to stop her home from being repossessed, but then blew most of it on luxuries, Burnley Crown Court heard.

She made out cheques to herself from the victim’s account and then got rid of bank statements when they arrived at the home, to hide her dishonesty.

After the case Coun David Heginbotham, mayor of Burnley, said: “This is an appalling and disgusting crime, taking advantage of an elderly and vulnerable person for your own gain is a scummy act. I can’t imagine the impact it would have on the victim.

“You would think it would have been picked up earlier with so much money going out of an account.” Launder, said to have been in the grip of depression when she struck, had walked into Burnley Police Station and owned up when her bosses at Dove Court, the Burnley nursing home where she then worked, got wind of what was going on.

Launder told police she had spent the money on things like clothes, perfume, presents for her children and electrical items.

The defendant, of West Street, Burnley, had admitted theft of £21,544.81, on or between October 1, 2009 and October 15, last year, and had been committed for sentence by the town's magistrates. She now faces a proceeds of crime hearing.

David Macro, prosecuting, said Launder turned up at the police station last October and told officers she had been stealing money from a Dove Court resident. She repeated the admission when interviewed under caution and said she had gone in as her employers had got to know what was happening.

Two days before the defendant handed herself in, a letter had been sent to Dove Court by the bank, saying Mildred Rigby was overdrawn by £1,140. There should have been more than £20,000 in her account.

Mr Macro said Launder had worked at Dove Court for two years and along with other staff members had access to the victim's cheque book. Mrs Ribgy would sign cheques for legitimate bills and her care.

Philip Holden , for Launder, who has two teenage children, said her husband was standing by her. She had worked in a different Burnley care home for 10 years without any problems.

She had been depressed at the time and was currently on medication. The offence was committed at a difficult time in her life but she was disgusted at her own behaviour. Her son had been having problems and the family faced losing their home. The house was repossessed and they now lived in rented property.

Mr Holden said:" The defendant accepts the majority of the money was used for luxury items." He added:"She is more than anxious about the outcome of these proceedings. She presents indeed as an anxious and timid lady."

Sentencing Launder as she sobbed in the dock, Judge Simon Newell told her her actions were a substantial breach of trust. He continued :"Over her lifetime, the victim seems to have accrued just over £20,000. That's all she had and every single penny of that is gone and it can't be replaced."

Judge Newell added Launder's conduct would have caused problems for the care home and may have affected her employers' business and their reputation. He said :"I am sure it has."

Richard Jackson, regional director, of BUPA Care Services who run Dove Court, said, “This was a gross breach of trust, which was completely unacceptable. We are pleased that the court has dealt with it appropriately.”