A THIEF who stole more than £30,000 from the pension of an elderly widow with dementia was caught red-handed in a covert sting set up by a close family friend.

Robert Black stole as much as £31,666 from the 94-year-old woman who suffers from vascular dementia. She trusted Black to withdraw her cash from her Post Office account.

The 68-year-old retired British Rail worker would leave her money in an envelope on her coffee table but pocket the rest. When caught he lied to police, telling them the woman had alcohol problems and blaming her memory difficulties for the shortfall.

Black of Caldwell Court, Moorfield, Hereford was jailed at Worcester Crown Court this week. He admitted stealing the cash between January 1, 2011 and August 28, 2016.

Scott Coughtrie, prosecuting, said Black performed odd jobs for the woman, one of which was to collect her pension from the Kings Acre Road Post Office in Hereford.

He said: “This was a serious breach of trust over a prolonged period.”

The widow became suspicious of Black and raised her concerns with a close family friend, managing director Roger Sweetman, who had power of attorney.

Mr Sweetman called the Post Office helpline and discovered Black withdrew £300 on August 22, 2016. Black only left £170 in the envelope. On a previous occasion £90 had been left in the envelope, a shortfall of £210. Mr Sweetman covertly filmed Black on August 27, 2016 using his iPad which proved Black had retained £140 of the £300 he had withdrawn.

Mr Sweetman reported his discovery to police and Black was arrested.

Mr Sweetman spoke at the court, describing how the complainant had known his family for 80 years and him since his birth.

He said: “I was shocked at the scale of the deception and saddened to see how soon after the death of a lifelong friend and carer he started taking the money.”

He described how the woman had valued Black’s friendship greatly and had been ‘devastated’ and ‘speechless’ to learn he had been stealing from her for many years and on such a scale.

Mr Sweetman described how the woman had been left depressed, embarrassed and ashamed and felt confused because she still missed Black despite what he had done.

Carl Templar-Vasey, for Black, asked the judge to give him credit for his guilty plea which had avoided the need for a trial. He further asked him to take into account Black's previous good character.

He added: "He's not completely wicked. He's made a terrible mistake because of his lack of finance and his difficulty coping with his financial situation."

Black was not in any financial position to make reparations the court was told.

Recorder Allan Gilfilian Mainds said: "You have never been before the court in your 68 years of being alive but what brings you here today is stealing of amongst the worst kind one can carry out.

"You were a family friend. You were entrusted by her and equally trusted by Mr Sweetman, her power of attorney, to deal with her day-to-day financial affairs.

"Down to what the prosecution describe as a sting, a trap, you were eventually caught effectively red-handed."

He jailed Black for nine months.