A WEALTHY widow ripped off by a team of private carers was very independent and did not want Social Services involved in her life, a jury heard yesterday.

Audrey Hammond, now 92, was adamant that she wanted to spend the rest of her days at Ings House, her home in Cracoe, near Skipton, former community matron, Karen Burnett, told the jury.

Mrs Burnett was giving evidence in the trial of three of Mrs Hammond’s carers accused of being part of a plot to fleece her out of more than half a million pounds.

Wendy Bell, 57, and her daughter, Lisa Bell, 30, both of Greenside Lane, Cullingworth, and Helen Banks, 42, of Howbeck Avenue, Riddlesden, deny conspiracy to defraud Mrs Hammond.

Wendy Bell pleads not guilty to two further fraud allegations.

The jury has previously heard that Amanda Carroll, 44, of Park Avenue, Shipley, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and two charges of fraud.

Linda Mynott, 60, of Garforth Road, Keighley; Caron Gilbert, 33, of Red Holt Crescent, Keighley, and Alice Barker, 59, of Raglan Avenue, Keighley, have admitted the conspiracy offence.

Mrs Burnett told the court she visited Mrs Hammond at her home to monitor her condition and she was in regular contact with her doctor.

In 2009, Mrs Hammond fractured her hip in a fall at home. When she was discharged from hospital, she had two carers covering alternate weekends, including Wendy Bell.

Mrs Burnett said Mrs Hammond had Parkinson’s disease and slept a lot as her condition worsened.

She suffered from hallucinations and sometimes did not want to take her medication.

Wendy Bell and Amanda Carroll were her main carers in a private arrangement that ensured there were always two people looking after Mrs Hammond She Mrs Burnett said she did not see anything about the standard of care that caused her any concern.

The trial continues.

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