A MANAGER of homes for mentally handicapped adults was cleared yesterday of pocketing a former resident's benefit money.

Linda Polson, 46, a director of Team Healthcare Consultants Ltd, was acquitted of theft after a three-day trial at Durham Crown Court.

Ms Polson, formerly of Trinity Courtyard, Newcastle, but now said to be living in London, denied the offence.

It was said to have been committed in March last year when she managed four small homes for mentally handicapped adults in the Hall Farm area of Sunderland, all privately run by Team Healthcare under contract, at the time, to the city's social services department.

She was alleged to have instructed a member of staff to cash a giro cheque for £228 from the benefit book of a mentally handicapped woman, three weeks after the resident was transferred to another unit after she had damaged her room.

The prosecution alleged she told a carer to cash the cheque, to use some of the money to buy wallpaper to repair the room, and to hand over the rest.

She was said to have been given a receipt for £35-worth of wallpaper, plus the remainder of the £228 in cash in an envelope, which she allegedly placed in her bag.

But giving evidence yesterday, Polson said she was unaware of the presence of the cheque until after her arrest, last August, and denied having given any instructions to members of staff to cash it or hand over the money.

Asked when she became aware of the cheque, Polson replied: "The first time I recall seeing it was at the police station when an officer showed it to me."

She said: "I have worked for 30 years and I have never done anything like this.

"I don't think it is right and I wouldn't do anything like this."

After being cleared by a unanimous jury verdict, Polson was awarded her costs by trial judge, Assistant Recorder Rebecca Thornton.