A CARER has admitted stealing up to £11,000 from a vulnerable elderly man.

Tracy Scaysbrook stole the money over the course of six months from a man living in sheltered accommodation on Canvey.

The man was being cared for by Wickford-based care agency Brooks Care and Nursing.

Family members raised the alarm after looking through the victim’s bank statements and saw unusual withdrawals.

The 40-year-old, of Canvey High Street, was voluntarily interviewed on November 14 last year, after the incident was reported to the police on October 30.

Scaysbrook appeared in court yesterday with her right arm in a sling and bruises on her face.

She was due to be sentenced, but Recorder John Laudle chose to adjourn the hearing as Scaysbrook required an immediate operation on her arm in hospital.

He said: “It’s my view that this case be adjourned until after she has had the operation.

“With the charge being so serious, an immediate custodial sentence is very likely, and what I don’t want is for her to go straight down to the cells and then have to have transport arranged from the prison to the hospital.

“Once the operation is out of the way, we will be able to sentence her properly. It’s a complicated matter and it is not something that I want to rush through.”

Mr Laudle apologised to the family members of the victim who were in court for the delay in the proceedings.

The man’s family stated last year, soon after Scaysbrook was first interviewed, that the incident has had a big impact on him.

The victim had been left “increasingly paranoid and mistrusting of people” and his family believed a stroke he suffered last year was caused by the stress from the theft, which they claimed were his life savings.

In a statement, the family said: “This has left him traumatised and more vulnerable than before.

“He put all his trust in his care workers.”

A date was not set for the next sentencing hearing, at Basildon Crown Court, as it was estimated Scaysbrook will take between six to eight weeks to recover from the operation.

She may face significant time behind bars when she is sentenced.

The thefts took place between April and October 2018.