Man stole from widow after doing garden work (From Ledbury Reporter)

Man stole from widow after doing garden work

5:20pm Friday 15th February 2013 in News

A MAN crept into the home of a 92-year-old woman who had been widowed two weeks before and stole £240 from her cash box, Worcester Crown Court was told.

Richard Davis, aged 30, had previously done gardening work for Ivy Windmill, said prosecutor Jackie Rogers, and knew she was likely to have money in her house in Queensway, Ledbury.

It was late afternoon on December 5 last year when he entered the house through the back door. He thought she was asleep but she was roused when she saw a shadowy figure.

Davis, of Barnett Avenue, Ledbury, was arrested five days later and immediately confessed. He said he had spent the cash on drugs.

Mark Thompson, defending, said Davis had a supportive family and had paid back the money.

But Recorder Rachel Brand QC said Davis was a skilled baker who worked hard and had no need to resort to crime. She jailed him for 32 months.