OAP theft social worker is jailed

The judge said Glenys Harwick acted deliberately and cynically

A social worker who fleeced an elderly woman of her savings, sold her house and stole the proceeds, has been jailed for three years and three months.

The Mold Crown Court judge said Glenys Margaret Hardwick, 57, was guilty of a "gross breach of trust" when looking after Dorothy Thomas, 82.

Hardwick, from Denbigh, admitted 10 charges of theft, of more than £64,000 from Miss Thomas, who has dementia.

A hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act will take place in January.

The court was told that Hardwick - who has since been sacked by Denbighshire Council - had been instructed to obtain a court order to protect Miss Thomas' finances.

But instead she got power of attorney over the pensioner's affairs herself.

Between June 2003 and March 2004 she withdrew on average £250 a week from the elderly woman's accounts, put her home for sale, and then withdrew the proceeds.

The court was told that she rarely visited Miss Thomas and did not even send her a Christmas card.

It was deliberate, it was cynical, it was a gross breach of trust and a deliberately set-up fraud Judge Huw Daniel

When challenged, Hardwick claimed Miss Thomas was a personal friend who she had known as a child.

Retired secretary Miss Thomas, formerly of Gwyddelwern near Corwen, now lives at a nursing home near Denbigh.

Hardwick claimed that the withdrawals had been authorised by Miss Thomas so that she could make donations to charity.

But Andrew Thomas, prosecuting, said that unfortunately Miss Thomas was not in a position to know what was going on.

Hardwick, known as Dennie Hardwick, and married to Brynmor Williams, regional manager for Age Concern, told how she had used the cash as gifts to support her family and had also donated £5,000 to Age Concern.

But her family were clueless about it all and the first her husband knew was when the police arrived at their door, the court was told.

It turned out that she had a previous conviction for theft at Sheffield in 1981 when she stole a stamp collection owned by a client when she was employed as a care worker.

'Comfortably off'

Seven years later, she qualified as a social worker and joined the old Clwyd County Council. But, she failed to disclose the conviction and checks back then did not include previous convictions.

Hardwick was told by Judge Huw Daniel: "You knew perfectly well that you were in a position of trust.

"What you did was to deliberately plan to take advantage of an old lady who could not look after herself.

"It was deliberate, it was cynical, it was a gross breach of trust and a deliberately set-up fraud.

"You knew perfectly well that this old lady would not be able to do anything about it."

Defending barrister David Williams said that Hardwick accepted she acted dishonestly.

He said Hardwick's husband was a decent man who would have put a stop to it if he had known anything about it.

When the theft was disclosed, Age Concern froze the £5,000 gift and will return it with interest.