A care worker who stole thousands of pounds from an elderly woman has been jailed.

Robert Mason was employed to help his 91-year-old victim with her shopping when he fraudulently requested a new pin number for her bank card to steal £3,600.

The 57-year-old of Mill Lane, Histon, used the card to make eight transactions of between £200 and £500 between November 13, 2014 and January 7, 2015, from cashpoints at Sainsbury’s in Coldham Lane and Tesco in Fulbourn.

A long standing friend of the victim noticed the unusual transactions on her bank statement and reported it to the bank and police.

CCTV showed Mason using the cash points in question at the time the transactions were made which tallied with cash deposits made into his own bank account.

The victim’s bank refunded the stolen money.

Mason pleaded guilty to theft and was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment on Friday (January 22) at Cambridge Crown Court.

Detective Constable Emma Beart said: “Mason defrauded an elderly woman of £3,600 when he was employed to assist her with her shopping.

“The victim put her trust in Mason. She had no reason to believe that he would abuse her trust.”