A CARE home worker who plundered hundreds of pounds from elderly residents has been spared jail.

Sharon Gingell helped herself to cash belonging to eight different victims between August last year and March this year.

And the 48-year-old was only caught after a sting operation carried out by staff who had worked out she must be the one stealing from residents.

But after hearing how she was being put under pressure from her drug addict son to provide him with money a judge decided not to jail her.

David Reid, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court Gingell worked at the Dairy View care home in Royal Wootton Bassett.

Early this year he said it was realised that money had been going missing from the self contained flats of residents at the managed establishment.

He said the losses were initially put down to memory issues by the victims but after a while a chart of when money went missing was created.

After it was found that Gingell was the only member of staff working at each time a loss was noted a resident agreed to help set a trap.

Mr Reid said it was well known the resident withdrew cash on Wednesdays so the serial numbers of the £200 he got was written down.

Nothing happened for a few days but on the morning of Saturday March 11 it was found £140 of his £200 was missing from his wallet after Gingell had visited him.

The police were called and all the staff went to a meeting where management explained what had happened.

The defendant said she needed the toilet and was escorted to the cubicle next door, which had been checked earlier, and after the money was found wrapped in loo roll.

When police questioned her she admitted taking the money saying her son, who she hadn't seen in years, was threatening to cut her throat if she didn't get him money.

Mr Reid said that after her arrest officers heard a voicemail from him confirming her story.

Gingell, who gave the court an address at The Chimneys, Daunstey Lock, pleaded guilty to eight counts of theft totalling £1,520.

The court heard that she had a number of health issues, including suffering from an autoimmune disease, and was on a vast range of medication.

John Lynch, defending, said while she took the money she did not benefit from it directly and was sorry for what she had done.

Passing sentence Recorder Michael Vere-Hodge QC said "As you I am sure now reflect, to steal money from elderly or vulnerable residents at these self contained flats was incredibly mean and amounted to a very significant breach of trust that you were placed in by your employers.

"In terms of the sentencing guidelines: it obviously is a breach of a high degree of trust to steal from these eight vulnerable people, either by age or by illness they suffered or a combination of both, and the fact that this occurred over something like a six month period from August 2016 right up to March 2017.

"I have to conclude if you had not been stopped on that occasion it probably would have continued."

He imposed a six month jail term suspended for two years with 20 days of rehabilitation activity requirement so she can get help for her problems.

At the end of the hearing her partner was made to delete photographs of the inside of the court he had taken on his mobile phone after the judge decided not to deal with as a contempt.