A CHRISTCHURCH pensioner stole £55,000 from her lifelong friend by pretending to look after her finances after her husband died.

Marilyn Brown, 78, took the money from Frances Tarne’s benefits, pension and inheritance, leaving her ‘destitute’ over a period of about 18 months.

She took control of her fellow 78-year-old’s finances, sending her £75 a fortnight to live on so she could barely afford to eat, telling her she did not have enough for a TV licence, and taking her car.

Police investigated after friends went to see the widow at her home in Saltdean, Sussex and found her living in ‘squalor’ despite her late husband’s healthy finances.

On Friday at Hove Crown Court, Ms Brown, of Waterford Place, Highcliffe, was jailed for 18 months after pleading guilty to one count of theft on the day of her planned trial in October.

Sentencing, Judge Shani Barnes told her: “Up until about the age of 75 you lived a blame-free life. I have read a range of letters and references from people you know, people you work with, who speak about you in the highest possible terms.

“But about three and a half years ago, or perhaps four years ago, your old friend who you had known since childhood lost her husband and something in you went seriously wrong, because whether it was jealousy, whether it was greed or something else, you systematically stole from her all that she had.

“You took from her within four months almost her entire inheritance. You took from her over a period of 18 months the majority of her income, her old age pension.

“You removed her dignity, her confidence and everything that she believed to be true.”

She added: “Had you taken money and had a holiday in America while ensuring she was comfortable and well it would have been simply dishonest and I could have been as lenient and compassionate as I am being asked to be.

“But I have read the victim impact statement from Frances Tarne and she has been left bereft.

“You took away her health, her money, her pension, her trust.

“If you were 20 years younger you would be going to prison for three years, no question.”