A WOMAN thief who preyed on the elderly and vulnerable has been locked up for 18 months.

Drug addict Nicola Cliberon, and a woman accomplice, targeted a 77-year-old man who fell ill in the street, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

Prosecutor Kate Bisset said the pair offered to help the man, took him to his apartment and made him a cup of tea.

But when they had gone, he found they had stolen money from his wallet, two mobile phones and four bottles of champagne. He reported it to police but the women were not identified.

Seven months later he saw and recognised the defendant near his flat.

Miss Bisset said: “He decided to act as a sleuth and allowed her in to try and give details to police.”

But she left abruptly and he discovered four bottles of wine missing from his cabinet and £70 cash had been stolen from his wallet.

Cliberon was arrested and bailed, but on Boxing Day last year she and her accomplice went to the flat of a vulnerable man, who had no family and was assisted by support workers.

They shouted through the letterbox, asking for money. He opened the door.

The other woman threw a punch at him, but missed, and he managed to close the door again.

Cliberon, 45, of Highfield Road, Rastrick, admitted two theft offences and one of attempted theft.

She had more than 100 previous convictions, mostly for theft.

Miss Bisset said the defendant had targeted elderly or vulnerable people.

Cliberon’s barrister, Anne-Marie Hutton, said her client acknowledged the offences were mean, but said the sole reason for the offending was Cliberon’s significant addiction to drugs over many years.

She said Cliberon’s sister was suffering from terminal cancer. She had weeks to live and her client would effectively have to be a mother to her children.

Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC said: “The courts cannot continue to put you and your problems above vulnerable members of society, because you do not hesitate to prey on others.”

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