A carer accused of assaulting a pensioner sobbed in the witness box as she denied hurting the 80-year-old woman.

Jacqueline Wright told the jury at Doncaster Crown Court yesterday she had never lost her temper with or struck Betty Sunderland, of Cullingworth.

On the seventh day of the re-trial Wright, 43, was questioned by defence barrister Peter Benson. The court heard that she cared for Miss Sunderland for four months from December 1996.

She denies two charges of assault causing actual bodily harm on Miss Sunderland, who had Parkinson's disease and died last year - something unrelated to the charges.

Wright told the court: "I never hurt Betty. I never hurt Betty. All I tried to do was my best."

Wright had worked for Keighley-based Dalesway Nursing Agency and was one of a team who provided 24-hour-a-day care for Miss Sunderland in her own home.

Wright's work had taken her to private houses and included shifts at Airedale General Hospital.

She told the court: "Betty could be very difficult. She paid a lot of money for her care and I think she thought we were there to run after her, which in a way we were, but I got the impression Betty wanted waiting on hand and foot."

Wright denied that she had shoved toilet paper into Miss Sunderland's mouth. She said she had taken her to Cullingworth on March 14, 1997 and bought fish for her dinner. Afterwards Miss Sunderland had blood on her lip and a small split, which she blamed on a fishbone, but which Wright said she thought was caused by her teeth.

Miss Sunderland could become confused, Wright said: "I once asked her 'do you know who I am' and she said 'yes you are the Lord.' So I knew she wasn't really with it at that particular time. She also said she could see things crawling up the wall and that there were two men in the corner fighting."

Wright said: "She began accusing all of us, all the carers, of doing things to her. She started playing us off against each other."

Questioned by prosecutor Andrea Addleman, Wright, of Vicarage Place, Barnoldswick, Lancs, said she did become frustrated by Miss Sunderland's "antics" but always tried to remember she was ill and deserved respect.

The trial continues.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.