Memorial for 102-year-old woman conned out of £290,000

Edith Negus "lived through the reigns of three kings and a queen" and twice survived being bombed in London, the judge said

A memorial service has been held for a 102-year-old woman who was conned out of nearly £290,000 by her carer.

Edith Negus, from Bridlington, East Yorkshire, had the money stolen from her in 2014 by her carer, Julie Sayles, who was jailed last June.

Mrs Negus died in October 2014 and her funeral was swiftly arranged by Sayles without consulting the family.

Her great niece Ann Ruthven said the family could "start to grieve and move on" three years after her death.

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Edith Negus was described as a "lovely, warm, kind" lady by her great niece

Sayles, 59, bought two houses with money she took from a bank account she shared with the 102-year-old.

Ms Ruthven said her great aunt was a "lovely, warm, kind" lady and the service organised by the family was an opportunity to remember Mrs Negus "for the person she was, rather than for what happened to her".

Edith Negus's family say they wanted people to "be able to say goodbye and remember her as she was"

She described how the original funeral organised by Sayles in a "tiny chapel, was awful".

"The funeral that was done for Edith wasn't what Edith would've wanted, it's certainly not what the family wanted and it wasn't a respectful way to say goodbye to her."

"At the graveside they nearly dropped the coffin," Ms Ruthven added.

"After the funeral, we went to this restaurant that Julie Sayles had booked and it was like an American-style diner that was still open to the public and because of the time of year, it was full of Halloween decorations and we were just told to order something off the menu.

"The only thing that Edith would've wanted that did happen was that she was buried next her husband."

Julie Sayles was handed a nine-year jail term last June for defrauding Mrs Negus

Ms Ruthven said the family had not grieved because "we've been so busy caught up in the fight to make sure that this woman [Sayles] pays for what she's done".

Sayles is currently serving a nine-year prison term.