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Caught in the act: The moment 'despicable' care nurse stole money from the purse of dementia-suffering great-grandmother

Michelle English was caught on camera rifling through the handbag of frail Jean Robson before taking cash out of the pensioner's purse

This is the moment a 'despicable' care nurse was caught stealing money from the purse of a vulnerable 83-year-old great-grandmother.

Michelle English was caught on camera rifling through the handbag of frail Jean Robson before taking cash out of the pensioner's purse.

The callous carer was caught when Mrs Robson's relatives suspected money was going missing and set up a video camera in her living room.

Mrs Robson's grandson Chris Murphy caught English dipping into the purse of his dementia-suffering grandmother before fleeing the room of her house in Aberdeen.

English, 33, has since admitted theft and was ordered to carry out unpaid work after being caught in the act.

Chris, of Huntly, Aberdeenshire, said: 'My grandmother has dementia and we noticed money was going missing and initially we thought she might be squirreling it away.

'But it kept happening and we soon worked out that it was a third party that was taking the money.

'So we set up the camera and used an ultraviolet (UV) pen to mark the notes. That's how we caught her.

'At the time we had great suspicions it was her (Michelle), but it was still really shocking when we actually saw the footage.

'We were just so aghast that someone would be prepared to steal money from a vulnerable old lady.

'But now I am quite satisfied that a conviction has been secured.

'Hopefully by releasing this footage we can raise awareness and make sure these sort of incidents are cut down.'

Michelle admitted the thefts at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on Wednesday and was given a community payback order of 140 hours of unpaid work and forced to fork out #100 compensation for the string of thefts carried out.

Chris, of Tarnash, Moray, also blasted Aberdeenshire Council for failing in its duty to look after his grandmother and may take legal action against them.

He said his mother, Lorna Murphy, and aunt Mellanie (corr) Robson raised their concerns with the local authority, but they turned a blind eye to their claims.

Chris said: 'We are considering suing Aberdeenshire Council. They are liable for what she (Michelle) did, and they breached their duty of trust.'

A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said: 'We do everything possible to make sure carers employed by Aberdeenshire Council are trustworthy and provide excellent care to the people they look after.


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'We regret that the trust placed in this particular person was breached. She no longer works for Aberdeenshire Council.'