A CARER who stole thousands of pounds from an elderly dementia sufferer walked free from court – so her three-year-old daughter was not punished.

Michelle Fleetham was told by a judge that she should have been going straight to prison for what he described as mean and despicable offences.

Instead, the shamed single mother was given a suspended jail term and was told by Judge Peter Bowers: “You’re an extremely lucky young woman.”

The judge told the 24-year-old, from Peterlee, County Durham: “I consider that your sort of conduct seriously damages confidence in the caring services.

“Lots of elderly people have to trust other people in their homes and in looking after their affairs, and what you did casts a shadow over everybody.

They are left thinking ‘can I trust the people looking after me?’” added the judge.

“This is about as mean and despicable a theft as one can imagine.”

Fleetham sobbed in the dock with her head bowed as details of her crime spree to fund nights out and presents were outlined at Teesside Crown Court.

The court heard how Fleetham was employed by an organisation called Community Activity Sitting Service to look after the 90-year-old Hartlepool woman.

She was given the pensioner’s bank card, but withdrew cash for herself on 26 occasions between January last year and the end of October.

Jacqueline Edwards, prosecuting, said the thefts came to light in November when managers noticed irregularities on the woman’s bank statements.

Closed circuit television camera footage from a cashpoint machine at a Hartlepool supermarket showed Fleetham twice withdrawing money.

When questioned and told about the CCTV, she said: “Yes, I did it. I spent the money on clothes for my daughter, presents and lots of nights out.”

Fleetham, of Thirlmere Road, Peterlee, admitted theft and was given a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, with £185 court costs.

The divorcee was also ordered to undergo 18 months of supervision with the Probation Service and to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work for the community.

Judge Bowers told her: “I was extremely tempted to send you away but, on reflection, I think your daughter would be severely damaged by that.”

The court heard that Fleetham has repaid the £7,100 she stole, and her barrister, Andrew Petterson, said: “She made admissions about her offending.

“She did not seek to justify or mitigate her offending in any way whatsoever, and was extremely frank with the police as to what she spent the money on.

“There is clear evidence that Miss Fleetham appreciates the enormity and the extreme difficulty of her position and that has had an emotional impact.”

Judge Bowers told her: “You’re an extremely lucky young woman. The fact you had no previous convictions and that you repaid the money stand you in good stead.”