A care assistant has been caught thieving by a teddy bear.

Yvonne Allen, 28, of Halewood, Liverpool, was sentenced to six months in prison, thanks to evidence captured on a camera placed in the eye socket of the cuddly toy.

Emma Sampson and her father Robert put the plan into action after his mother Thelma noticed £40 had gone missing from her purse.

The family devised a scheme to try and discover who was stealing from the 75-year-old, who has end stage leukaemia.

Mr Sampson explained: "My daughter, who has just graduated from her forensic science degree at the University of Central Lancashire, said we should mark the bank notes and buy a camera."

The family wrote down the serial numbers on three £20 notes in the purse and bought a camera from a local DIY store.

As the lens was just like the eye of a teddy bear, they put the camera inside the toy and waited.

The film quickly revealed the culprit to be Thelma's carer from the Primary Care Trust in Liverpool.

Mr Sampson, who feared waiting a long time for any results, said: "She was greedy. We called the police and showed them the footage and gave them the serial numbers."

Mrs Allen of Oakwood Road, Halewood, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft at the Criminal Justice Centre in Liverpool and agreed to pay £60 to Thelma.

Bernie Cuthel, managing director of Liverpool PCT Provider Services, confirmed the arrest and conviction of one of their "former health care assistants".

He said the trust fully supported Merseyside police in their investigation and added: "Following information from the courts that the employee involved was pleading guilty to all charges, an internal disciplinary hearing was held and this person is no longer employed by Liverpool PCT."


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