Pregnant conwoman jailed for burglary

Samantha Simpson, aged 33, who is seven months pregnant, conned her way into the properties of three pensioners all aged in their 80s.

She has since been jailed for four years, after Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how one of her elderly victims was now nervous every time he heard a knock on his front door.

Simpson, from Hordern Road in Whitmore Reans, targeted her first victim, an 89-year-old woman who lived in sheltered accommodation, on December 20 last year.

Prosecutor Julian Elcock told the court: "The defendant pretended she'd met the victim before and said she'd come to drop a Christmas card off.

"She then said she'd do some shopping for the old lady and took £5 to go and get milk. The old lady waited two hours but she never returned."

The pensioner, who lived in Cannock Road, later discovered her purse containing £63 in cash had been taken.

Mother-of-three Simpson then entered an elderly man's home in Selbourne Crescent on January 31 asking if she could use the toilet, before taking £42 from a drawer.

She targeted another woman in her 80s in the same street on the same day, making off with £10.

Simpson was arrested in February after DNA evidence was found linking her to the crimes. She pleaded guilty to three charges of burglary.

Saleema Mahmood, defending, said: "At no point did she use violence against these people to take the money. My client was until recently heavily addicted to class A drugs, but as soon as she found out she was pregnant she decided to rid of herself of the habit."

Recorder Andrew Lockhart believed Simpson had targeted old people and made them feel "foolish".

He said: "This is the most serious type of house burglary."