A PROFESSIONAL carer stole the life savings of an elderly Carlisle couple, squandering £75,000 on takeaways, drugs and gambling.

Rebecca Fidler’s unsuspecting victims – in their 80s and 90s – were devastated when police told them the woman they had trusted 'cleaned out' their bank accounts, stealing all but £2,000 of their savings over 19 months.

The defendant, 34, of Holywell Crescent, Botcherby, Carlisle, admitted theft, telling the police she deserved to be jailed.

Brendan Burke, prosecuting at the city’s crown court, said the defendant stole on an almost daily basis between September 2019 and April of 2021.

Though she worked for Cumbria County Council as a carer, her work with the couple she stole from was through a private care agency, said Mr Burke.

“She was involved with [the couple] extensively, in and around the home, cooking, cleaning, shopping and providing personal care,” said Mr Burke.

She was also trusted by the couple with their bank cards, so that she could withdraw their pension payments. “It was at that point that things began to go badly wrong,” said the barrister.

The couple had no inkling whatsoever that they were being stolen from the point when Fidler was arrested and they were told, said the prosecutor. The elderly woman said Fidler befriended them.

They regarded her as 'extremely helpful.' But Fidler began moving the couple’s money around and eventually transferring cash to a new account, set up by Fidler in her maiden name of Armstrong.

According to records, the money transfers were for reasons such as cleaning, shopping, and care work. When the couple asked to see their bank statements, Fidler told them this was not possible for 'technical reasons', such as computers being down.

But bank officials became suspicious after noticing 'a huge number of gambling transactions,' said Mr Burke.

The barrister said: “They tried to call [the elderly man] and after a few failures to reply they did eventually make contact with him and began a conversation.

“But the defendant, who was present, promptly took over, telling the bank that she was responsible for [his] finances and she continued the conversation, saying it was because he was hard of hearing.”

Mr Burke said there were elements of sophistication to the offending. After that phone call, Fidler called the bank, claiming that there had been a fraud after her car and her bank card were stolen.

Police visited the couple on April 15, 2021, and broke the news that their bank accounts had been almost emptied.

“They were extremely distressed,” continued Mr Burke.

“Both of them were saying they had nothing to live for and asking how they could afford to survive. In total, over the period involved, £75,287 was stolen from the couple’s accounts.”

Most of that money was spent by Fidler on online gambling. On some occasions, she used the couple’s accounts on multiple occasions in the space of a single day.

Mr Burke said: “The couple were devastated, especially as the defendant had seemed so friendly and helpful.”

The elderly man has since died but his widow – who uses a walking frame – watched the hearing via a video link.

Andrew Evans, defending, said Fidler had openly told the police that she accepted her offending fully deserved custody. A woman of previous positive good character, the defendant had battled with what were at the time undiagnosed mental health problems.

She is now diagnosed as having bipolar disorder, said Mr Evans.

“She was terrified about her finances and terrified about the future,” said the barrister. Fidler had become dependent on prescription medications and alcohol and began using cocaine to 'self-medicate' her depression.

She also developed an addiction to gambling. “She was very far from being of sound mind,” said Mr Evans, who argued that there was genuine remorse and a very real prospect of rehabilitation.

Recorder Julian Shaw told the defendant: “That couple trusted you implicitly; they thought you were kind and helpful... you systematically stole from this very elderly, very vulnerable, and entirely trusting couple.”

The judge continued: “You stole money to feed your addictions to class A drugs and gambling and for nothing more than takeaway meals for your own personal gratification.

“I am satisfied that the steps you took in stealing from his vulnerable couple were ,within the context of this offence, relatively moderately sophisticated.”

This included Fidler attempting to cover her tracks.

Fidler began to weep as the judge said the elderly man had spent the last months of his life worrying because she had stolen his and his wife’s money, prompting the pensioner to conclude they had nothing to live for.

Though noting the defence barrister’s references to Fidler’s poor mental health, Recorder Shaw said a psychiatric report concluded she did not lose contact with reality and was aware at the time that the offence she was committing was wrong.

Recorder Shaw jailed Fidler for 30 months.

Two charges – both involving alleged intimidation of the victims - were discontinued by the prosecution after it was accepted that she had visited them to find out what they told police.

The bank involved - the Halifax - reimbursed £40,000 of the stolen money after accepting that the theft should have been spotted sooner, the court heard.