Grandma lived high life on £54,000 stolen from Alzheimer's patient at Harrogate care home

Patricia Cheshire, 66, took money from Eric Anthony’s accounts over six years while he relied on donations for everyday essentials such as clothing.

York Crown Court heard that Cheshire had been appointed Mr Anthony’s state pension and benefits by the Department of Work and Pensions due to the victim’s dementia but had lived the high life on his money.

Mr Anthony - who has since died - was taken into a nursing home in Harrogate, in 2007 and Cheshire opened an account in her own name for his benefits to be deposited there.

Despite Cheshire signing a form from the DWP to state the money would only be used for Mr Anthony’s benefit, the grandmother-of-four wiped his account clean.

Prosecuting, Louise Reevell said when Cheshire’s accounts were inspected, investigators found references to ‘Magic Kingdom Ticket USA’ and ‘Cigar Box US’.

Social services were alerted and arranged a meeting with Cheshire at her flat which boasted a new four-piece suite and other expensive decorations.

Ms Reevell said: “Social services found holiday brochures for expensive locations and were troubled by this because they knew she was on benefits.”

Mr Anthony was moved to another nursing home in 2010 and his care was fully-funded for four years; however, Cheshire was obliged to give her step-father pocket money for essentials such as toiletries and clothing.

Cruelly Cheshire gave Mr Anthony just under £230 over three years.

Ms Reevell said Cheshire should have given Mr Anthony thousands but nursing home staff had to beg for the two payments they did receive.

Ms Reevell said: “The defendant never visited Mr Anthony and never telephoned them home to see how he was, except on one occasion when he went into hospital shortly before he died.

“Nursing home staff even bought him a Christmas present otherwise he wouldn’t have received anything.

“He was also in need of clothing and footwear but his most recent clothing had to come from charitable donations.”

Sadly, Mr Anthony passed away in February last year aged 81 by which time investigators had discovered Cheshire, a mother-of-two, had transferred money from the pensioner’s funds into her own savings and third-party accounts.

Ms Reevell said: “There were other beneficiaries of Mr Anthony’s estate, including other siblings, who lost out.”

Cheshire pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position and the court heard she had a previous conviction for benefit fraud from February 2014 when she failed to notify the DWP her husband had died and claimed his full pension for 11 years.

Mitigating, Jessica Strange, said Cheshire had not worked since 50 because of arthritis and osteoporosis and had to retire from care work.

Branding Cheshire’s treatment of her step-father as “cruel”, Judge Rodney Jameson QC condemned her greed and “utter neglect”.

Cheshire was jailed for 15 months and was told it would have been much longer had it not been for her physical frailties.