A woman, who admitted stealing more than £6,000 from her vulnerable elderly mother, has been warned she is facing custody.

Christine Arnold, 54, appeared at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates' Court today and pleaded guilty to stealing £6,684 belonging to Sylvia Whittingham, between November 22 last year and April 5 this year, at Bradford.

Prosecutor Vincent O'Malley told the court the complainant in the case was Arnold's mother, who was 80 years old.

Mr O'Malley said Arnold, of Tawny Close, Tong Street, Bradford, had used her mother's card to take out her money, and when her bank statement arrived Arnold turned it away so she could not see it, and put it away. He said Mrs Whittingham's grand-daughter noticed money had been taken from her grandmother's account.

Mr O'Malley said some of the money taken had been used for the purchase of a car and a holiday.

The prosecutor said the offence was a breach of trust and asked for the case to be sent to the crown court.

But the Bench agreed the matter could be heard at the magistrates' court, after hearing submissions from Arnold's solicitor, Steve Brocklehurst.

Mr Brocklehurst said his client had no previous convictions and £3,000 of the money had been repaid. He said it was a family matter and a complex issue.

But Mr O'Malley said family members maintained that no money had been repaid.

He added: "They also say she is vulnerable and she has difficulty with hearing."

The magistrates agreed to adjourn the hearing for a pre-sentence report by the probation service. Arnold was granted unconditional bail.

But chairman of the bench, Philip Turner, told her: "This is clearly a serious case. This is a vulnerable victim. The offences were over a period of time and you were in a high level of breach of trust."

Mr Turner added: "This has passed the custody threshold. We are looking at custody as an outcome."

Arnold's husband, Geoffrey Arnold, 51, also of Tawny Close, pleaded not guilty to the joint charge of theft and will face trial at a later date.