A CAREWORKER who stole from her patient having amassed gambling debts of over £20,000 was sent to prison.

Sarah O’Brien, 41, stole over £6,000 from Susan Hopkins, 63, who is so severely disabled she has no understanding of what happened to her.

O’Brien, of Port Road, Rhoose, was one of three people placed in the highly trustworthy position of being a signatory for Ms Hopkins bank account.

Ms Hopkins, who is cared for in Barry, was recompensated by the care home for the money stolen.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how O’Brien saw a window of opportunity during the pandemic where the first lockdown meant no audit was done on the accounts of service users at the facility.

This gave her the opportunity to steal from the helpless Ms Hopkins.

However, in a truly tragic case, the money, a total of £6,450, was not used to fund a lavish lifestyle.

O’Brien was desperate, living day to day and borrowing from work colleagues to make ends meet.

It was described how her life was in chaos at the time around the offences.

Her long-term partner and father to her two boys left her and moved out the council flat they shared.

The sons went with their father after O’Brien struggled to care for them.

It was also described how O’Brien suffered with the stress of working in a care facility during the pandemic, having to be away from her family and in the highly contagious environment of the care home setting.

In April 2021, as society was opening up again, an audit of service users' accounts was finally taken.

This was where it was discovered Ms Hopkins' account had been accessed 35 times.

O’Brien was initially questioned and denied any wrongdoing – lying as she said £1,000 was used to buy furniture for Ms Hopkins.

The judge, Recorder Ben Blakemore, mentioned how O’Brien had reimbursed Ms Hopkins before taking the money again in part to service a crippling gambling habit.

O’Brien amassed a debt of £22,000 through online gambling sites.

The defendant, pleaded guilty to taking advantage of a person in her care for financial gain at Cardiff Magistrates' Court at the beginning of August.

Recorder Blakemore told her: “Society relies on trust.

"Vulnerable people rely on care workers who can be trusted. You breached that trust.”

O’Brien was jailed for 10 months.