A CARER stole thousands of pounds from the Herefordshire woman she was employed to look after, a court has heard.

Sarah Bevan admitted committing fraud by abuse of position, but said she did not agree with the figure she was accused of taking when she appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

She had worked as a carer for the physically disabled victim between May 1 and December 3, during which time she had made withdrawals and transactions with the victim's bank card, prosecutor Eleanor Peart said.

The victim's daughter had noticed cash being taken out, and Bevan called her on November 30 to say she had made a mistake by using the victim's card to buy flowers and pay for her wedding photographer, the court heard.

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The daughter probed further and, after finding further withdrawals, compiled a spreadsheet comparing the amount that had been taken out of the account before and after Bevan had been employed, noticing a large difference.

"The withdrawals were for Amazon, fuel, and groceries for herself," Miss Peart said.

"The daughter believes £11,785 was taken."

In a police interview, Bevan, who has previous convictions for obtaining property by deception and theft dating back to 2005, admitted using the card and said she intended to pay the money back.

Marilena Di Vitantonio, for Bevan, said the 39-year-old had entered a guilty plea on a basis as the Crown Prosecution Service had not been able to quantify the loss.

"This was adjourned for that to be done and it still has not been done," Miss Di Vitantonio said.

"There is nothing to corroborate what the daughter has said. She has gone through the accounts and picked figures out for things that do not look right. We have been through those accounts and my client accepts £6,500 of those. She does not accept the Amazon purchases, for example."

Magistrates sent the case for a Newton hearing to determine the facts of the case, and Bevan, of Monkton Place, St Weonards, will appear before Hereford magistrates on June 16.