A WOMAN abused her position as a carer for the elderly, sneaking into their homes to steal jewellery.

A WOMAN abused her position as a carer for the elderly, sneaking into their homes to steal jewellery.

Beverley Warner waited until her victims were asleep before raiding two homes in the Poppyfields assisted-living complex in Chapman Way, Eynesbury.

She pretended to help search for some of the missing jewellery but had attempted to sell items to a St Neots jeweller, where she was filmed on CCTV.

Warner, 51, of Cornwallis Drive, Eaton Socon, appeared at Huntingdon �Magistrates’ Court, pleading guilty to two charges of �burglary.

Magistrates ruled she should be sentenced at crown court because her crimes were so serious and involved a clear breach of trust.

The thefts, in August, included a 67-year-old engagement ring and a Queen Victoria sovereign on a gold chain.

Her victims were 90-year-old Doreen Smith and Doreen Rallison, 84.

Mrs Smith put three rings into a trinket box before going to bed on August 21. When she and her husband Harry, 91, woke the next morning, the rings were missing.

They included the engagement ring for their marriage in 1943, which was set with a square sapphire, a 100-year-old nine-carat gold ring, and a silver ring with a pink stone.

Mrs Rallison had a Queen Victoria �sovereign on a gold chain stolen on the evening of August 27. Mrs Rallison had worn it every day for more than 40 years. It had been a pair with a George sovereign worn by Mrs Rallison’s mother, and both were to be handed down to her family.

Mrs Rallison’s sovereign and chain were melted down the day they were sold, and Mrs Smith’s engagement ring is still missing. The other two have been recovered.

Mrs Smith’s daughter Carole Lawrence labelled the thefts “cold-hearted”.

She said: “My mother was very distressed about it all. She has a fear of Alzheimer’s and when the rings went missing she thought she had lost them.

“She had always trusted Beverley, and I am angry that Beverley had the temerity to help my mother search for a ring that she herself had stolen. It’s just so cold-hearted and callous.”

A relative of Mrs Rallison told The Hunts Post: “I’m angry that this woman picked on one of the most vulnerable people. To do this is just despicable. She has only recently started to get back to her old self after the theft.”

Both families praised the other staff at �Poppyfields for their care and attention.

Ms Lawrence said: “They are kind and �caring over and above the call of duty. I would not want this slur to fall on them because it is a wonderful place.”

Poppyfields is owned by Hanover, which provides landlord and tenant support services to residents, but domiciliary care is the responsibility of Beaumont Healthcare.

Claire Anderson, extra care and services director at Hanover, said: “We take the safeguarding of our residents very seriously and we are pleased this issue has been resolved.”

A Beaumont Healthcare spokesman said: “We have rigorous procedures in place during recruitment and training to prevent people exploiting their positions of trust.

“Every person applying for a job is thoroughly vetted, and checks are carried out with the police and other authorities to ensure they have no criminal records or history of problems in working with vulnerable adults.

“Fortunately, this case is unusual, but we are looking at what we can do to ensure that this type of dishonesty cannot be repeated.”