Thief who targeted woman with dementia jailed

Lindsay Collier was jailed for more than three years

A thief who stole £400 from a pensioner with dementia and tried to go back to her house twice to steal more has been jailed.

Lindsay Collier, 46, befriended the woman in her 70s and took cash from her purse while she was making a cup of tea, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Collier, of Blyth, Northumberland, went back the following day and again after being released on bail, breaching an exclusion order, prosecutor Caroline McGurk said.

She admitted burglary, attempted burglary, theft and possession of cocaine, and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

Ms McGurk said Collier, of Princess Louise Road, came across the "elderly and vulnerable" woman on 10 April and was invited into the victim's home.

While the woman was in the kitchen, Collier took £400 from her purse and left, the court heard.

'Physically sick'

The following night she entered her home again but fled as the victim's son was there, with her movements captured on doorbell footage.

Having been arrested and released on bail, Collier went again on 30 April, despite a court order banning her from being in the area.

She opened the door while wearing a mask but then fled, the court heard.

In a statement, the victim's son said his parents had dementia and his father was in hospital at the time.

He said she was "scared and very vulnerable" and he felt "physically sick" that someone would steal from her.

The man said he also feared Collier returning, possibly with others, as she "knew how vulnerable" his mother was.

He said his mother "always [saw] the best in people" but the theft had damaged her confidence to go out.

In mitigation, Lorraine Mustard said Collier, who had previous convictions for theft, was "extremely ashamed" and said the amount stolen was less than £400.

Judge Gavin Doig said the victim should have felt "entitled to feel safe" in her own home but, because of Collier, she "may never feel safe again".

He added Collier's criminality started later in her life and showed how "pernicious" drug addiction was, that being the main reason for her offending.