Carer Janet Walker fleeced her blind victim, 92

Jun 22 2009 by Katy Simpson, The Journal

A CARER is behind bars after fleecing a blind pensioner out of almost £5,000 by raiding her bank account.

Janet Walker, 57, of Bede Crescent, Wallsend, was employed by Age Concern to help look after the vulnerable 92-year-old woman at her Whitley Bay home.

But she abused her position of trust by helping herself to her credit card and using her PIN details to repeatedly withdraw money from her account.

Her dishonesty came to light when the victim became aware there were numerous transactions which could not be accounted for, Newcastle Crown Court heard. The pensioner, who is registered blind and has mobility problems, last night told The Journal it never crossed her mind that Walker was to blame because she was such a good carer.

The betrayal was made worse by the fact that she got on so well with Walker.

The victim, who asked not to be named, said: “She worked hard and really cared for people. She always finished the job, even if it was going over the time she was supposed to finish.

“I got on so well with her, I even got her a Christmas present. She used to come in at weekends and do the normal things like helping me dress and wash.

“There are about eight people who come round, because I live on my own.

“The first thing I knew about it was when I had a letter from the bank saying I owed them something ridiculous.

“After I got in touch with the police, they acted very quickly and found out who it was in about a week to 10 days.

“When they told me, I really couldn’t believe it because she was so nice and caring. The idea of her being the kind of person who would steal things was so far from my mind.

“Everybody who had anything to do with her was shocked.