CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Cruel carer deprived 88-year-old woman of food and water

Julie Hamilton can be seen barking orders at her victim and eating her food.

Hamilton falsified records to disguise her cruelty but was caught by a hidden camera. She was tasked with looking after the partially-sighted woman at the victim's home in Willenhall, but she embarked on a campaign of ill treatment that lasted weeks and involved holding back food and drink.

At other times she force-fed her or took food from cupboards and ate it herself.

The footage, released by West Midlands Police today, was recorded without Hamilton's knowledge.

It showed the 53-year-old – who visited up to four times a week – barking orders like "open your mouth" when feeding the lady and giving her no time to swallow or digest food. At one stage she is heard to cry out in distress as Hamilton crams food in her mouth.

Detectives examined 19 clips caught on the camera between May and June 2014.

Other footage shows her opening a tin of soup and washing it down the sink before signing paperwork claiming she'd spent time feeding her patient; on that lunchtime visit she spent just three minutes in the house and did not once check on the woman.

And the clip shows Hamilton scoffing a cake she's swiped from a kitchen cupboard - an act she later defended in police interviews as a 'perk of the job'.

A whistle-blower left a DVD of the abuse under the windscreen wiper of a manager's car at Complete Care Services in Stafford Street, Willenhall; they alerted West Midlands Police and Hamilton was arrested.

Hamilton, who sat with her head bowed and sobbed throughout proceedings at Wolverhampton Crown Court, was jailed after she admitted wilful neglect of a person lacking capacity.

The court heard the victim suffered from dementia and incontinence and, following a stroke, required constant care. She received up to seven visits a day from staff at Complete Care, in Willenhall. Mr Kevin Jones, prosecuting, said: a covert camera was set up in her home in April last year after another member of staff became concerned about her deteriorating health.The footage revealed a 'substandard' level of care being offered by Hamilton.

"Food was given to her forcefully," he said. "At times it was given very quickly, which didn't give her time to digest or swallow food."

Mr Jones said that on one occasion Hamilton, of Hunts Lane, Short Heath, Willenhall, repeatedly ordered her victim to swallow food. "When she refused, Hamilton said 'Well you'll go without' and turned on her heels and left," he added.

The footage also showed Hamilton taking food from the victim's cupboards and eating it herself. She was also seen to open a tin of food and pour its contents down the sink.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Karen Kirman from West Midlands Police's specialist Vulnerable Adult Protection Unit, said she was determined to get justice on behalf of the lady and her family.

She added: "Hamilton shows a complete lack of respect and humanity for a very vulnerable lady under her care; the only time she did her job, adopting a friendly, smiling demeanour, was when a doctor was also present.

"One of the films shows Hamilton shouting "open your mouth" to the lady while feeding her one-handed and watching the TV…and when she doesn't comply she tells her "well do without then" and walks off with the plate. At one stage the camera shows her smirking while she threw food away.

"This case illustrates two extremes of care: Hamilton who was callous and treated her patient as an inconvenience, compared to the whistle-blower who deeply cared for this lady and who uncovered the abuse. She cried when she saw the footage she'd recorded.

"There was no physical abuse in this case, no aggressive manhandling or assaults, but this was deliberate neglect and I'm pleased the seriousness of Hamilton's actions has been reflected in a term of imprisonment."