A DRUG-USING mum-of-three has been condemned for pretending one of her children was injured and alone in hospital to con people out of cash.

Gemma Marie Dean, 28, knocked at the homes of elderly people in the Wyke area of Bradford and feigned distress to cheat them out of money, saying she needed to get to hospital to be with her son who, she claimed, had been in an accident.

Her crimes were branded “cruel” by a judge, while councillors in the area called her actions “despicable”.

Dean, of Methuen Oval, Wyke, admitted five charges of fraud, some of which she committed while on bail for earlier offences, and asked for a further two to be taken into consideration.

The victims of her fraud included an elderly woman who lived in Wyke Crescent, who Dean tricked out of £50, and a 71-year-old man who gave her £7.50 to get a taxi.

Prosecutor Paul Flemming told Bradford Crown Court: "In all her interviews she admitted she needed the money to pay the people supplying her with drugs to feed her habit."

Sentencing her, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC described her offending as cruel and nasty.

"Begging at this level is a serious offence," he told her.

"You are getting into the charitable hearts of good people, people who can't always afford to spare £20. Some of the people involved in this case were elderly or vulnerable. It is cruel and there was a real nastiness about this offence."

Sarah-Kate McIntyre, mitigating for Dean, said her client had made progress in recent weeks, and was voluntarily attending drug rehabilitation programmes such as the Unity Recovery Centre.

"She is a single mother of three children, she did this to fund her addiction to Class A drugs," she told the court.

Judge Durham Hall sentenced Dean to a Criminal Behaviour Order which for the next five years prohibits her Dean from calling at any residential or business premises to ask for donations, unless they are family, friends or charities.

It also prevents her from approaching strangers and begging for money.

If the order is breached, she could be jailed for up to five years.

Addressing Dean, Judge Durham Hall said: "You have more problems than I could possibly imagine. To lock you up would cause terrible distress to your family, and would do far more harm than good.

He added: "I don't want to see you in court in six months time because you have been going up someone's path asking for money."

Dean also received a 12-month community order, a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement and was ordered to pay £180 in court charges.

Speaking after the court hearing, Councillor David Warburton (Lab, Wyke), said: “Clearly, it is quite despicable preying on older people. I think it is terrible. Using your children to do things like that, I think is awful.”

Cllr Warburton said he hoped the courts would also work with other agencies to address the “bigger picture” behind the offending.

He said: “Hopefully any rehabilitation will help her to come off the drugs and lead a better life.”

Councillor David Robinson (Ind, Wyke) said: “I think it is a despicable crime, whoever is doing it.

"All right, people do have problems, but to take problems out on others like vulnerable people is not the solution and I am sorry, but the courts have to deal with it in a hard manner and I am all in favour of it."

Councillor Sarah Ferriby (Lab, Wyke) said: “It is not appropriate for anyone to target elderly and vulnerable people. It’s as simple as that.”