Greedy Cullercoats care home manager pocketed £7,000 from resident's bank account

A trusted care home manager pocketed nearly £7,000 from a vulnerable resident by secretly using her bank card.

Greedy Shirley Ward was in charge of withdrawing cash for the victim’s day-to-day living expenses while she was staying at Melrose House Care Home, in Cullercoats, North Tyneside.

But, the 58-year-old soon started helping herself to the money, taking almost £7,000 over a 12-month period and hiding bank statements so her deceit wasn’t detected, a court heard.

The fraud was only uncovered when the bank account of the victim, who suffered from emphysema and asthma and needed a constant oxygen supply, was completely drained of funds and struggled to pay for her place in the home.

And it was only after Ward was dismissed for an unrelated matter that her scam came to light and the police found the hidden bank statements and three of the victim’s bank cards, Newcastle Crown Court was told.

Now, Ward, of Hartford Crescent, Bedlington, has avoided being immediately sent to prison after she pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position and was given a suspended sentence.