A carer betrayed the trust of an "extremely vulnerable" patient by stealing his bank card and making a withdrawal.

Blackburn Magistrates' Court heard Oluwatope Akinwusi was working in a home for people with severe mental health issues when he committed the offences, which the manager of the facility described as "disgusting and despicable."

Akinwusi, 36, of Rothwell Street, Rochdale, pleaded guilty to theft of a bank card and fraudulently obtaining £480 in cash.

He was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £480 in compensation.

District Judge Alexandra Preston said the defendant had been a trusted care worker but he had betrayed that trust when he stole from an extremely vulnerable individual.

"You betrayed the trust of the person you were caring for, the company you were working for, and your colleagues, who also came under suspicion," said District Judge Preston.

Nicola Mills, prosecuting, said Akinwusi had been working for the Krinvest Care Group at its facility in Bacup at the time of the offences, August 1 last year.

A member of staff noticed the £480 withdrawal on the victim's bank statement and flagged it up as suspicious.

"The victim doesn't have the capacity to deal with his finances and they are administered by the company," said Miss Mills.

She said inquiries began and it was established the withdrawal had been made from an ATM at Bacup News in St James' Square, which was close to the unit.

Further inquiries showed Akinwusi was the only person working at the time and he was also caught on CCTV leaving the property and heading in the direction of Bacup News.

The court heard Akinwusi had come to the UK in 2022 and had found employment as a care worker.

He had borrowed money before leaving Nigeria and shortly after his parents had been taken ill.

He was sending money to the banks and to his parents and got into difficulties.

Akinwusi told the probation officer who prepared a pre-sentence report that he was disgusted with himself. He said it went against his core Christian values.

Waseem Chowdhary, mitigating, said his client was extremely remorseful.

"He was struggling financially at the time but he feels ashamed of what he did," said Mr Chowdhary.