AN ELDERLY widow forked out more than £1 million pounds in home care in two and a half years, a fraud trial jury heard.

Housebound Audrey Hammond, 92, paid out a total of £1,138,360, between February 2010 and September 2012, under a private arrangement to be looked after by a group of people, many of whom had no relevant qualifications or Criminal Records Bureau checks, it is alleged.

Three woman are on trial at Bradford Crown Court denying any involvement in a plot to fleece Mrs Hammond, of Ings House, Cracoe, near Skipton.

Prosecutor Stephen Wood today told the jury that Mrs Hammond's care manager, Wendy Bell, received an overall sum of £217,850 from her over that period.

Her daughter Lisa Bell received £66,524, but transferred £26,150 of that money to her mother.

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

Wendy Bell pleads not guilty to two further fraud allegations.

Wendy Bell told the police Mrs Hammond asked her to recruit carers under a private arrangement to cut out agency fees.

As her responsibilities to Mrs Hammond grew, so did her earnings.

Wendy Bell said Mrs Hammond was always fully involved in her care, meeting potential recruits to decide if she liked them.

"Any money I received from Mrs Hammond has been with her full knowledge and consent," she said.

She told the police that when a community matron said the long block shifts worked by carers at Ings House must end, Mrs Hammond insisted her workforce were still paid the same amount and did not lose out financially.

Wendy Bell said she herself had a Criminal Records Bureau check and recruited people from an agency that she knew did carry out such checks.

Mrs Hammond was "savvy and very aware" and took people at face value.

Lisa Bell told the police she had a full time sales role in her father's company and had worked as a model, earning roughly £2,000 a month, until she was 25.

She began working at Ings House under the guidance of her mother in 2009 to provide emergency cover.

Latterly, she was earning £960 a month from Mrs Hammond for two Saturday shifts a month.

A further £1,000 went into her bank account from Mrs Hammond that she transferred to her mother.

Lisa Bell said her mother explained the money was because Mrs Hammond was unable to leave her money in her will.

The trial continues.