A BURGLAR raided a vulnerable woman while she

slept before fraudulently using her stolen bank card to withdraw hundreds of pounds in cash.

Robert O'Neill admitted burglary and two counts of fraud when he appeared at Worcester Crown Court on Friday.

The 30-year-old of Winslow Avenue, Droitwich, targeted the home of a 59-year-old in the town on June 5.

The same woman was targeted only a few days beforehand in another burglary.

Alison Scott-Jones, prosecuting, said the complainant got out of bed and noticed a plant pot in the bathroom had been moved and a footprint on the windowsill.

Her walking stick, which had been hanging up, was on the kitchen floor and a plastic bag which contained her medication was on the worktop rather than where she normally kept it in a cupboard.

Her smartphone was also missing and £14 and a bank card had been taken from her purse.

At 1.40am the stolen Barclays bank card was used at Lloyds bank in Victoria Square, Droitwich to withdraw £300 from the woman's account.

Ms Scott-Jones said: "The premises had been subject to the burglary because two of his friends were friends of the lady who lived at the home.

"One of the friends was a young woman who had done shopping for this lady and had been entrusted with the pin number of the bank card to carry out transactions.

"That is the mechanism by which he had been able to use the cash card without difficulty."

A second transaction took place at 2.16am at the BP Garage in Worcester Road, Wychbold. O'Neill bought £28 worth of cigarettes.

Forensic analysis at the woman's home revealed a print of O'Neill's right middle finger.

He was arrested in Boots in Victoria Square on June 9. In police interview he denied being responsible, claiming the money had come from a friend of his who had loaned him the card.

The first indication that he would plead guilty did not come until a pre-trial hearing on November 8.

Ms Scott-Jones said the case had features of 'greater harm' because the victim was at home in bed at the time of the burglary. It was a further aggravating feature that it had taken place at night.

The burglary placed him in breach of a conditional discharge.

Jason Aris, defending, attributed O'Neill's offending to the use of heroin. He said his client had been industrious and in full-time work since the age of 18.

He added: "His father was very seriously ill in the later stages of last year. He died in April. He was very close to his father. It is abundantly clear this has sent him completely and utterly off the rails."

Recorder Paul Bleasdale QC said: "This was a targeted burglary against a vulnerable lady and you were able to target these premises by reason of the inside knowledge given to you by someone who doubtless the injured party thought was a friend as well as a neighbour.

"I can't tell you how close you have come to a substantial prison sentence. This is an absolute last chance."

He sentenced O'Neill to 18 months in prison suspended for two years and ordered him to complete a 12 month drug rehabilitation requirement and 160 hours of unpaid work.

He took no action against O'Neill for the breach of his conditional discharge.