[A] WOMAN who defrauded her elderly grandmother to the tune of £3,500 has been handed a suspended prison sentence.
Carlisle Crown Court heard how Hayley Ostle made a host of transactions on 80-year-old Sheila Ostle’s bank card without her permission.
During a four-month period last year, 27-year-old Ostle used the card to pay the deposit on a rented property and to buy items from retailers including supermarkets and a high street shoe store.
Victim Mrs Ostle only learned of her granddaughter’s £3,516.18 deceit when an attempt to withdraw cash failed. She was described as being “heartbroken” by the crime.
Ostle, of Argyll Drive, Carlisle, denied one fraud charge but was convicted following a magistrates’ court trial.
She was sentenced today (MON) by Recorder Kevin Grice, who heard mitigation about the defendant’s previous good character and a medical condition.
Recorder Grice suspended a nine-month jail term for 18 months. Ostle was also given a three-month electronically-monitored night-time curfew, and a £1,000 compensation order.
