A SOUTHAMPTON woman who preyed on elderly victims has been jailed for a string of thefts and burglaries.

Carla Dorward, 42, appeared in court on Wednesday after she stole valuable and vital items from elderly residents in their 70s and 80s.

The first crime was committed on August 14 last year between 6.40am and 6.55am at a flat in North East Close, Southampton.

Dorward targeted a man in his 70s at the address and asked to use his toilet.

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When Dorward was out of the occupant’s sight for a couple of minutes, she entered his bedroom and stole his mobile phone and gold jewellery worth up to £725 before leaving.

On March 26 this year, she visited a flat in Paynes Road, Shirley, between 6.30pm and 7pm.

Again, she knocked on the door and asked a man in his 70s if she could use the bathroom.

Once inside she started drinking wine from her bag and asked if she could sit there for half an hour until her ‘uncle’ returned home.

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After she left, the man noticed £15 cash had been taken and a bank card was missing from his wallet.

The card was then used in a number of shops to buy £114.52 worth of items.

Just a few days later, on March 27, a third incident happened at a flat in Padwell Road between 5pm and 5.38pm.

The resident, a woman in her 80s, was in her bedroom when she heard a noise in her front room. When she went to see what it was, she found Dorward in her home.

Dorward told the woman she had left her keys in the lock and warned her that she ‘must be careful not to leave your keys in the door’.

It is believed Dorward had gained access via a spare key inside a wall-mounted key safe outside the flat.

The women asked Dorward to leave, which she did.

After Dorward left, the victim noticed her handbag had been moved and her purse had been stolen, which contained £70 in cash, bank cards and club cards.

At Southampton Crown Court, Doward, who is in HMP Bronzefield in Surrey, admitted two burglaries, theft from a home and six frauds by false representation.

She was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison.

PC Noora Abbasi from Operation Hawk, Hampshire Constabulary’s specialist team for burglary, led the investigation.

She said: “Burglary is traumatic enough regardless of your age, but for Dorward to target members of our community who are especially vulnerable is all the more reprehensible.

“For the gentleman who was burgled in 2021, his phone was a vital lifeline and the jewellery had great sentimental value which you cannot put a price on.

“We are pleased that justice has been served and Dorward will be taken off our streets where she cannot prey on others in the coming years.

“I hope this sentence sends out a strong message to burglars that we will find you and ensure your victims also get justice, and that the community can see the hard work we are putting into reducing this particularly invasive type of crime.”

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