The 84-year-old widow who had her savings stolen by a policeman, while advising her on crime prevention, today spoke about the toll the case has taken on her health.

And Doris Midwood said the incident had shaken her trust in an institution she always believed was beyond reproach.

Kenneth Davies, 44, of Leafield Crescent, Eccleshill, Bradford, was jailed for nine months yesterday afternoon after a jury at Leeds Crown Court unanimously found him guilty of theft.

The Shipley-based community constable for Windhill stole £700 from a tin in which Mrs Midwood kept her life savings.

The judge ordered that three separate charges of possessing counterfeit notes be allowed to lie on file.

During the trial, which heard Davies had been suffering from depression, he admitted removing the cash but denied theft, saying it was unplanned. He had meant to return it to her Windhill flat but never got the chance.

Following the hearing, Mrs Midwood, who gave her evidence to the jury from a wheelchair, said: "I can't say I'm happy someone's been sent to jail but if he hadn't taken my money he wouldn't be going to prison.

"I think nine months is long enough and I'm satisfied with the sentence. It's been on my mind for 12 months and I'm just relieved it's all over.

"I was worried about giving evidence but I'm glad I did go to court because it was important that I should have my say.''

The great-grandmother, whose savings are now in the bank, described the theft as appalling but said she could forgive the disgraced policeman.

She had been very depressed since the theft, had been in hospital twice after suffering panic attacks and was still taking medication for anxiety.

She said the incident had shaken her trust in the police, adding: "You can't blame the police for what one person did but it was a shock that it was a policeman because you don't expect them to do that sort of thing.''

Mrs Midwood's son, Bradford councillor Barry Midwood, 58, said: "We're very proud of her. To have the courage to go ahead and sit giving evidence for 45 minutes is magnificent for someone of 84.

"Mum hasn't had a smile on her face for the last year, but now the case is over and everything she said has been vindicated, she's happy. We're looking forward to getting her back to how she was - lively, outgoing and cheerful.''

Mr Midwood added: "Part of her life savings were taken by a person she thought was a pillar of the community.

"She was brought up to believe the one person in this world you can trust is a police constable.

"He got into the house because of who he was and has abused that, which I think is despicable.

"But it's tragic that a promising career like Mr Davies' has been ended by one crazy act in a split second.''

Despicable, say PC's workmates

A colleague of jailed Bradford bobby Kenneth Davies today described his theft from Doris Midwood as a "despicable'' act.

But the police officer said colleagues had been surprised and shocked to hear about the allegations against PC Davies when they first came to light early last year.

The Bradford officer, who asked not to be named, said: "The general feeling about a community constable invited into a house to give crime prevention advice and then ripping off an old lady is that it's a despicable thing to do.

"On the face of it, he was a hardworking copper who's gone off the rails but there's very little sympathy from within the job for someone who's convicted of theft.''

He added: "The general opinion of colleagues was that he was a hard-working man with a lot of commitment to the community. This seemed to be totally out of character for him. He appeared to be well liked by the community and by people from all age groups. He had a bubbly personality, just used to bounce along and was popular and well-liked by his colleagues.''

Of the jail sentence, the policeman added: "I feel sorry for him, knowing what sort of treatment he'll get inside.''

After the sentencing, Superintendent Phil Read of West Yorkshire's Discipline and Complaints team said: "The West Yorkshire Police Force makes concerted and determined efforts to root out bad apples from within its ranks."

Shock for the local residents

News of PC Ken Davies' criminal activity has shocked members of the community which he policed.

Davies, who had been in the force for about five years, was community constable for the Windhill area and a governor at Woodend Middle School.

Kath Quinn, community economic development worker with North East Windhill Community Association, said: "He used to come up here to talk to the elderly about home security and not letting strangers into their house and had a couple of sessions with a chap selling personal alarms.''

Norman Free, a governor at Woodend Middle School, said he had been shocked, saddened and very surprised to hear about the charges against Davies.

He believed Davies had done a good job as a governor at Woodend and as a community bobby.

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