A TREVETHIN carer is starting a 12 month prison sentence after stealing £2,200 from the vulnerable people he cared for.

Phillip Morgan, 49, of Orchard Farm Estate, appeared at Newport Crown Court after being found guilty of 11 offences of theft.

The court heard how Morgan was working as part of a team of carers employed by Cariad Domiciliary Support Services to provide supported living at Silverbirch in Pontnewydd, Cwmbran, when the offences took place.

Morgan was entrusted with the bank cards and pin numbers of the people who lived there and used this to withdraw a total of £2,200 from the bank accounts of two people with learning difficulties, withdrawing £200 at a time between September and December 2009.

None of this money has yet been repaid.

Leighton Hughes, defending, said it was a sad and shameful day for Morgan.

He said there was no evidence of high living or extravagant spending and that Morgan was living in a modest home where he and his family were surviving on their income rather than thriving.

Mr Hughes said Morgan was a man of previous good character with a good employment history and was highly thought of in the community.

Mr Hughes also told the court that there was no motivation to cause harm or revenge and that he had stopped taking the money some months before he was caught.

Judge Rhys Rowlands told the court howMorgan continued to deny the thefts and had even suggested others were to blame.

Judge Rowlands said Morgan had breached a very high degree of trust and had stolen a significant amount of money from two victims who were particularly vulnerable.

An application was made for a confiscation order and compensation which will be dealt with at a later date. A spokeswoman for Cariad Domiciliary Support Services said: “For the last 21 years our aim has been to protect people with learning difficulties from abuse.

"We feel we have maintained that and justice has been done.” The case was investigated by Det Insp Rory Waring, of Gwent Police Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) team.