A “DESPICABLE” carer who stole cash and heirloom cufflinks from a severely disabled man has been spared an immediate prison sentence.

Thieving Lamyai Dobson was caught when her victim set up a “sting” operation by leaving cash temptingly on show on his desk, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Dobson, 40, of Dalacres Crescent, Embsay, near Skipton, has been sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, with 160 hours of unpaid work. She must also undertake an activity requirement with the probation service and pay £250 towards the cost of bringing the case.

Dobson was convicted by a jury last month of five charges of stealing from the householder, who lives in a village in the Skipton area.

The court heard that the former investment manager, who is paralysed from the neck down, set a trap for her after sums of money had gone missing.

She took more than £700 cash in less than a fortnight in November last year, along with the valuable cufflinks from the man's bedside table. They were a gift from his grandmother at his christening, the court was told.

Prosecutor, Rebecca Young, told the jury during the trial that the man had three long-term carers when Dobson, a Thai national, joined the team in late October, 2014.

The householder was paralysed from the neck down after a road accident 13 years ago.

The judge, Recorder Stuart Brown QC, branded Dobson’s offending, and the lies she told the jury, despicable.