A carer who stole more than £10,000 from a trusting elderly couple has been spared prison by a judge who admitted: “Some members of the public may think I have lost my mind”.

Donna Fletcher, aged 31, blew some of the cash on a new car and buying clothes from ebay.

The court heard how the victim’s husband had since died and she feared she would have to sell her house to make ends meet.

But mother-of-two Fletcher, from Brierley Hill, avoided jail after being told by Recorder Edward Coke at Wolverhampton Crown Court: “I am going against the sentencing guidelines, which begin at 12 months in prison, and some members of the public may think I have lost my mind.

“But you admitted what you had done straight away and you have shown remorse.”

Fletcher, of Cressett Avenue, began caring for the couple at their home in 2009 when the 77-year-old woman’s diabetes, high blood pressure and arthritis began to worsen.

After being given the bank card in March last year, she spent £10,134 in three months.

She shelled out £3,000 on a Renault Scenic, which she has since sold to fund a deposit on a new house, and £1,000 on car insurance.

Other purchases included grocery shopping. She was initially handed the bank card and its PIN number by the woman to withdraw a small amount of money from an account containing £25,000.

Fletcher even told the pensioner to sign a letter to the Nationwide bank, saying no money had been taken fraudulently from the card.

Nationwide has refused to pay back the cash, possibly because of the letter, said Mr Thomas Schofield, prosecuting.

Mr Glyn Samuel, defending, said Fletcher, who admitted theft, had been suffering money troubles after her husband left her.

She was given a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for nine months, and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

She must also pay back the stolen £10,134 at £100 per week.

By Adam Burling