Caught on CCTV... carer who robbed pensioner even on Christmas Day
‘She was straight into the kitchen, then straight into my handbag’
HIDDEN camera footage shows a carer betraying the trust of a generous pensioner who had even paid for her to go on holidays.
Retired hairdresser Diana Bramall’s family became suspicious about cash missing from the 84-yearold’s home and rigged up a secret camera in the kitchen.
When they reviewed the recording they saw Donna White, 48, rifling through Mrs Bramall’s handbag and pocketing wads of notes.
White is believed to have stolen £3,600 in all, going into the pensioner’s bag 64 times in just four months – even stealing on Christmas Day.
Mrs Bramall said the thefts have left her “feeling ill”.
The great-grandmother added: “I’ve lost my trust in people.”
Sobbing White was jailed for 10 months at Sheffield Crown Court.
It heard that Mrs Bramall, of Barnsley, had been cared for by White and her sister for three years at her home where she lives with her husband of 62 years, Norman Bramall, 89, who is severely ill.
Mrs Bramall looked on the carers as her friends and treated them to cruises and holidays as thanks for their help, as well as paying for the service they provided.
But White was on the take, the court heard this week.
She pleaded guilty to theft while still denying that more than £1,000 was involved. Her sister played no part in the crime. Each week Mrs Bramall’s son Michael, 63, cashed a cheque for his mother of between £300 to £400.
In August last year, she asked if he was collecting the right amount as money she was getting was less than the cheques were written out for.
The suspicious family installed the secret camera in the kitchen, which showed White repeatedly stealing from her handbag. Her other son Stephen, 62, who lives on the Isle of Man, said he felt “physically sick” when he saw the footage.
And Mrs Bramall said: “I took them on holiday and paid for them to go on two cruises and took them to Morecambe twice as a thank you because I thought they were doing well for me.
“When you see the video, she was straight into the kitchen, straight into my handbag.
“One time she did it three times and she stole from me on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
“It made me feel ill, we had been so generous with her, which is why it hurt. It was terrible, it has knocked me for six.
“I’m an 84-year-old woman who is reliant on other people to help her and I’ve just lost my complete trust in people.”
Stephen Bramall described the thefts as “brazen and systematic”.
His mother had been a fundraiser for Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, near Sheffield, for the past 20 years and had collected nearly £100,000, he said. He added: “It is incredibly sad that a person who has given so much to society should be on the receiving end of such cold, callous, behaviour. Unfortunately it is likely the CCTV captured only a small number of the thefts and because of the refusal by White to acknowledge any incidents not captured then the full extent of her actions will never be known.”
Beverley Tait, prosecuting, said the thefts happened between November 2015 and March 2016.
She said the amount involved was thought to have totalled as much as £3,600. Sean Fritchley, defending, said White, a mother of two, claimed the amount was closer to £1,000. He insisted White, who has been a carer since the age of 19, was “genuinely remorseful”.
He added: “She has lost her good character and will carry that shame around for the rest of her days.” But the judge, Recorder Anthony Kelbrick, jailed her, telling her he had no option but to punish her “total and utter dishonest behaviour” with prison.
CARER Donna White has been caught repeatedly stealing from 84-year-old Diana Bramall. It was only when Mrs Bramall’s family became suspicious and installed secret cameras in her home that White was finally stopped. Troublingly we are witnessing more and more cases of carers stealing from the elderly. And nor is it only theft. There have also been terrible instances of neglect and abuse perpetrated either by at-home helpers or by staff in care homes.
The thieves are exceptionally good at winning the confidence of the people they target, ensuring that victims are less likely to raise any suspicions. And many of the people who are robbed or abused suffer from dementia and lack the ability to report wrongdoing.
Concerted action is needed to safeguard the interests of the elderly and ensure that those looking after them behave in a professional and compassionate manner. In the face of a growing problem this must be a priority for the Government.
Many cases come to light because of secret filming – this is something that the authorities must consider using more often to monitor care staff. Greater rigour during inspections would also help to shut down care homes which are not fit for purpose.
Above all we need to see those such as Donna White who are found guilty of criminal offences given lengthy jail sentences.