Lincoln care worker stole £8,000 from vulnerable victim

Handcock was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for two years

A care worker stole more than £8,000 from a vulnerable 80-year-old woman she was supposed to be looking after.

Alison Handcock, 40, from Lincoln, admitted spending the money she stole on non-luxury items such as food, clothing and petrol.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Handcock's victim was unable to feed herself and suffered from dementia.

Handcock, of Browning Drive, was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for two years.

David Eager, prosecuting, told the court the first theft occurred in 2021 when Handcock was "caught short" and used her victim's bank card to buy petrol.

The discrepancies came to light in 2023 when a manager examined the victim's Halifax bank statement.

When police checked the statement it revealed £8,311 had been stolen, Mr Eager said.

'Lost your good character'

The court heard Handcock made "full and frank" admissions to the police during her interview and immediately admitted to doing "something bad".

Passing sentence Judge Simon Hirst told Handcock: "This type of behaviour always passes the custodial threshold.

"Today you have lost your good character, and you will never get that back."

However, the judge said he was able to pass a suspended jail sentence because of Handcock's confession and frankness with the police, her previous good character and her own personal circumstances looking after two teenage children.

"None of the money was spent on luxury items," Judge Hirst said.

Handcock, who pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud by abuse of position, was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work in the community and 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.