Woman Jailed for 6 Years After Befriending Vulnerable Tonbridge Pensioner to Steal His Bank Card

A woman who befriended a vulnerable man in his 80s at a Tonbridge café, then stole his bank card from his bedroom while he let her use his toilet, has been jailed for six years for burglary and fraud.

On 30 March 2023, the 41-year-old, from Canterbury, approached the man at a local café and got talking to him. He invited her back to his home in Tonbridge to continue the conversation. During the visit, she asked to use the toilet - and used the opportunity to search through his bedroom drawers. After she left, the man noticed his wallet, containing cash and his bank card, was missing.

Over the following two days, she was caught on camera using the stolen card to make a string of contactless payments at shops in Paddock Wood and Cranbrook - on takeaway food, sweets, alcohol, tobacco, toilet roll, newspapers and magazines, totalling £349.47. She was wearing a distinctive coat at the time, which would later help identify her on CCTV and form part of the evidence against her.

After cancelling his card, the victim reported the theft to police, and an investigation was launched. Officers arrested the woman at an address in Cranbrook; searches of the property recovered her coat and the victim's bank card. She was further arrested and charged with burglary and fraud, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on 15 October to six years in prison.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Hayley Campbell said: "[She] manipulated her elderly and vulnerable victim, abusing his trust to enjoy comforts she could not afford. Thanks to a swiftly launched investigation, officers were able to retrieve a trail of damning evidence, documenting [her] movements and expenditure. Detectives even recovered her distinctive coat, which helped to identify her on CCTV. The lengthy custodial sentence will prevent [her] from swindling more cash from vulnerable members of the community for quite some time." Source: Kent Police