A carer who used more than £20,000 stolen from an elderly Oswestry woman has been jailed for a year.

Lauren Pearce used the cash to pay for her drug habit, a holiday and to get music festival tickets.

Passing sentence at Shrewsbury Crown Court last week Judge Anthony Lowe said that 25-year-old Pearce accepted she had been selfish and had no excuse for her actions.

"What you did was a blatant breach of trust, not only did you betray the victim’s trust but the whole care worker industry," he said.

Judge Lowe said that a message had to go out that anybody tempted to take money from elderly people will go to prison.

Pearce, of Bryn Road, Moss, Wrexham, had pleaded guilty to fraud after using the 75-year-old victim’s bank card at cash points.

The court heard the elderly victim, who suffered from anxiety and depression, had not been able to leave her home for some time so relied on carers.

Pearce had been trusted to withdraw £250 in cash at a time from a cashpoint for the victim and that between December, 2016 and September last year she stole just under £21,000 in goods and cash.

Ms Laura Nash, prosecuting, said another one of the victim’s carers noticed there were anomalies on the spending and the bank transactions and CCTV at the cash points was checked.

It revealed a Vauxhall Corsa pulling up and Pearce getting out and withdrawing the cash.

The defendant had used the money to feed her cocaine habit and paid for the holiday to Ibiza and tickets for her and friends to attend the Creamfields Festival.

Mr Robert Edwards, Pearce, said his client's mother died five years ago and her actions spiralled out of control after a relationship with an abusive partner ended.

“She was suffering exceptionally low self esteem and turned to the use of cocaine and she tried to give herself some self-esteem by living a lifestyle she could not afford.

He said Pearce had voluntarily sought counselling to help her drug use and conceded that she was motivated by greed.