Wolverhampton care nurse stole £5,000 from couple

A care nurse stole nearly £5,000 from the frail and vulnerable Black Country couple she was looking after, a court heard. Rajinder Kandola was today starting a 10-month prison sentence for pilfering thousands in repeated thefts.

The 44-year-old, from Wolverhampton, also plundered £2,000 from a cabinet where savings were kept, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard yesterday. She was sacked amid fears she was stealing, but then tried to take even more money from the victims, the court was told.

Kandola, from Mount Road, Penn, rang the Nationwide Building Society claiming to be the elderly woman and asked them to close her account which contained £4,000 and put the cheque in the post.

But a suspicious member of staff at the society checked the telephone number provided by the caller and discovered that it belonged to Kandola, the court was told.

Prosector Patrick Sullivan said the victims were frail, housebound and in failing health when the care nurse arrived at their home in Wolverhampton to help them with their daily needs.

Kandola admitted three charges of theft and another of fraud and was jailed for 10 months. She was also ordered to pay £4,880 compensation.

Mr Christopher O'Gorman, defending said she accepted they were "mean" offences and was "utterly ashamed" of her actions.

Judge Jonathan Gosling told Kandola: "What you did was utterly despicable and it was a dreadful breach of trust.

"Once you were employed by this couple you wasted no time stealing from them. They were very vulnerable and extremely trusting. You did not need the money but just helped yourself to it. After being dismissed you then tried to fleece them out of a further £4,000."

By John Scott