Thieving carer stole from war hero, 89
A CRACKDOWN by the courts could have seen a care worker who stole from a war hero jailed.
Susan Pell was employed to help Peter Carpenter around his home. Instead, she plundered cash when his back was turned.
Pell waited for Mr Carpenter to shuffle out of his room using a walking frame before stealing from his wallet.
She was only caught after cameras were installed at the war veteran’s home by his concerned family after he noticed money was missing. Mr Carpenter, 89, said he was “devastated” by the carer’s betrayal and found watching video footage “sickening”.
Film showed 65-year-old Pell stealing cash twice. When she appeared in court, Mr Carpenter told magistrates: “If she was short of money I would have given her £20.”
Mr Carpenter began paying carers because he has severe arthritis and a life-threatening aneurysm. The pensioner said the thefts left him feeling vulnerable.
Mr Carpenter joined the Merchant Navy in 1943, aged 15. He took part in the perilous Arctic convoys and supported the Allied D-Day landings.
He was one of only 12 survivors when his ship was torpedoed. He said: “I still have nightmares about it.”
Pell had been visiting Mr Carpenter’s home in Spalding, Lincs, twice a week.
Magistrates told her she had “betrayed trust” and had “placed suspicion on other people who went to the house”. Pell pleaded guilty to stealing £50 and was sentenced to a year-long community order and 150 hours of unpaid community work.
Mr Carpenter said later: “A couple of months in the nick would have done her good.”
His daughter Elaine Davis, a nurse for more than 35 years, said: “It disgraces the uniform that she wore.”
Pell, of Pinchbeck, Lincs, was ordered to pay £50 compensation and £170 in costs.