Female care home manager burgled houses of her residents knowing they would be empty

Adaway burgled three homes in the Barnsley area before she was caught when a neighbour heard a noise as she jemmied the door of an 83-year-old woman’s home after she forgot to take the keycode with her.

Jailing her at Sheffield Crown Court, Judge Simon Lawler said: ‘These offences as a whole were pre-meditated and were all planned and of course they were a substantial breach of trust of your position of responsibility.’

He added: ‘They were also in relation to vulnerable people who must have been dismayed and angered when they discovered what had happened.’

Adaway, from Wombwell, admitted three offences of burglary and one theft. She asked for 17 similar offences to be considered.

Prosecutor Clive Cook said in total about £6,000 in cash and jewellery had been stolen from residents at Highfield Grange.

Police arrested Adaway on the afternoon of May 27 this year at a semi-detached bungalow in Worsbrough, Barnsley as she crouched down in the porch after the neighbour called police.

She had jewellery with her and when her car was searched officers found a SatNav of which Mr Cook said ‘that was how she was directed to the properties.’

The assistant manager held the codes for the doors of the properties back at the nursing home.

Adaway was arrested and her home searched. Police found about 80 items of stolen jewellery and £1,200.

Interviewed later by police she admitted wearing a burglar’s outfit of dark clothing and gloves.

Mr Cook said: ‘At the house where she was caught she had forgotten to take the keycode with her and had to jemmy the door open. Someone heard her.’

Andrew Smith, defending, said Adaway recognised it was a ‘gross breach of trust.’

There were a number of ‘bizarre’ features to the case although a psychiatrist’s report had found no evidence of mental illness.

She was under stress at work and had cash worries at home which had led to her taking drugs, although she did not carry out the raids to finance her drug habit.

Her partner was ill with ME and the strain of her personal problems had also left her with a drink problem.

She was the mother of two young children and a teenage girl and her actions were ‘completely out of character.’

Adaway was not a typical burglar. She had stored all the booty at her home and had not sold it on.

The judge said he took into account the fact she had substantial debts when sentencing her.

But he added: ‘A lot of people have a lot of problems but they do not resort to dishonesty of this scale.’