Two women posed as charity workers to steal from the home of a 95-year-old – by CUDDLING her.
Kelly Jeffery, 32, and Rebecca Lee, 34, tricked their way into the house before making off with £60 cash from their victim’s handbag.
One of the women claimed to know the victim’s husband when she opened the door to them, despite him having died several years earlier.
They then told her they were working for a charity before entering the woman’s home uninvited.
As one of the defendant’s distracted the pensioner with items she said were for sale, the other began to walk around the property.
Jeffery then put her arm around the victim and cuddled her, causing her back to be turned to her handbag that was on the end of the sofa.
The women then gave the victim a plug-in air freshener as a gift before leaving her home, after which point she realised £60 was missing from her purse.
Detectives who investigated the incident discovered that Jeffery and Lee had been attempting to sell air fresheners to customers at a neaby newsagents shortly before the burglary.
The pair, from Gillingham, Kent, were known to police, who were able to identify them from CCTV footage.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Aaron Chapman said: “Kelly Jeffery and Rebecca Lee targeted a vulnerable woman in her own home and should feel thoroughly ashamed of themselves for their actions.
“They lied in an attempt to gain the trust of an elderly victim but their deceit caught up with them and they will now spend time behind bars as a result.
“Burglary is a terrible crime and the courts quite rightly take a dim view on those who seek to benefit from the misery of others.”
Both pleaded guilty to burglary and were sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment each when they appeared at Maidstone Crown Court on last Monday.
The offence was committed in Gillingham on the afternoon of October 29 last year.
