UPDATED: A thieving cleaner from Warrington who “abused her position of trust” stealing from a 92-year-old woman she worked for wept after she was jailed.
Grandmother Alison Lavell was caught red-handed after the victim’s worried son had secretly installed cameras in his mum’s home after money went missing.
Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday, Tuesday, that he placed £40 in her purse and after it vanished he viewed the footage and Lavell was seen having gone straight to the purse on two occasions and taken £20 each time.
Putting her behind bars for nine months Judge David Swinnerton told the 59-year-old Warrington woman, who had no previous convictions, “You committed this out of sheer greed.”
Lavell, of Alexandra Street, Padgate, pleaded guilty to two theft offences on January 6 and 9 this year.
Oliver Saddington, prosecuting, said that £350 went missing from the victim’s home and it was thought that carers were to blame.
It was then agreed that money for them would be put in named envelopes but after they began being replaced with blank envelopes her son installed CCTV cameras.
On Boxing Day last year he put £40 in his mum’s purse and Lavell was captured on camera taking the cash on two occasions.
The victim, for whom Lavell had been working since 2018, told in a statement how she was devastated as she thought of the defendant as a friend and she felt deceived.
Helen Chenery, defending, said that Lavell was “deeply ashamed.” and that Lavell “did not know why she had done it” as she did not need the money.
Post hearing Cheshire Police issued the following statement.
“Cheshire Police received a report from the victim’s son, who suspected that Lavell had been stealing money from his 91-year-old mother that was supposed to be given to her carers.
The caller reported that around £500 had gone missing by the time the family had been made aware and they later provided Cheshire Police with video footage from a hidden camera from inside the elderly woman’s home that showed Lavell, who was her personal cleaner at the time, taking what they believed was £20 from her purse on 2 January 2024.
“A second piece of video footage taken a week later showed Lavell again reaching into the purse of the victim and taking a further £20.
“Lavell was subsequently arrested on suspicion of theft but denied any knowledge of the 92-year-olds money going missing.
“Despite claiming she was innocent, claiming she had picked up a prescription for the woman from her purse and not cash, Lavell was charged with two counts of theft and went to trial. After initially pleading not guilty, she would later change her plea to guilty after CCTV footage was shown to her in court.
Police Constable Stephen Wolstenholme, of the Warrington Area Investigation Team, said: “Alison Lavell abused her position of trust and stole the money of a vulnerable person who considered her a friend; I hope that her sentencing provides the victim with a sense of closure from this distressing incident.
“Regardless of how small they may seem, we will always take matters such as this with the utmost seriousness and our officers will relentlessly do everything they can to get you the justice you deserve.”
16 Comments
Unfortunately this report does not cover the full story and should be taken down immediately
You’re right it doesn’t cover the full story, she has come across far less evil than she actually is!
No that is not true. Sone people have it in for others
Maybe family members should be more caring to their elderly folk
£40 and there are people walking into shops stealing TVS and the police aren’t interested. Your home gets completely robbed and the police dont even follow it up. There are child abusers walking the streets. Warrington Police were just ticking boxes on this investigation. It was an easy target. 9 months in jail for £40 and sex offenders all had early release this week… shows that state of this country.
It was actually in the thousands she stole but we only proved the last £40, and her attitude throughout the whole case is what got her such a strong sentence. I agree though the world’s mental! She should be made to give the thousands back then she might think again about steeling, save prison for dangerous people!
Maybe you need to learn how to spell
Spelt right or wrong your family member is still a thief and bad person, defend her all you like (Anonymously) that was a big word I checked that one just for you, but a fact is a fact, she deserves every minute in that cell
Alison didn’t steal some random things from a shop, she was in my grandmas house gaining her trust pretending to be a friend and then abusing a robbing every chance she could! She deserves what she got and more, it’s not the ammount it’s the fact she abused a vunerable person and who knows how many others, I’m sure if it was your grandma you wouldn’t be complaining,
I think if it was my family I would have asked or had the balls to ask her and save the Court and Tax Payers money.
It was Alison that wasted the courts time and tax payers money.
She denied any wrong doing right up to the day of the trial. So if the family had confronted her, rather than going to the police, do you really think she’d have admitted it? Definitely not.
The irony is that, if she had she admitted it when she was first charged, the courts time and money would have been saved and she would only have received a police caution.
As for this “being out of character”, she robbed a pensioner over several years taking many thousands of pounds. She abused the trust of someone that thought she was her friend.
A person’s character should be judged on what they do, not what they say.
Alison brought all this on herself, she only has herself to blame.
Absolutely The sentence is unfair after sex offenders etc walk out without doing their time
I’ve had the wool pulled over my eyes throughout all this, even writing her a character reference as she swore she hadn’t done it. And now myself and others have been blocked from her social media ( not that she can use it now anyway, nor would I want to be on it now). She’s been passively aggressive with the way she’s spoken to and about me and others and all the time she knew what she’d done. A lesson in who to trust for me
I’m a friend of Alison’s. This is out of character and she would help anyone and be sincere
Chris your slanderous false comments have been reported to the solicitors, and they will be in touch.
Whether she stole £40 or £5000, she stole from an old vulnerable lady who trusted her! I cannot believe you a blaming the family for wasting police time, she stole something that wasn’t hers!! End of! This is exactly what is wrong with this country, people not accepting any responsibility for their actions and blaming others. Even if it was a one off incident, she made a choice to steal from someone else, how dare she? Don’t steal, don’t get thrown in jail. Simple! No sympathy atall.
I was one of this ladies carers . This old lady is such a lovely and kind trusting woman. I have done my job for over 15 years and never ever been accused of anything so you can imagine my shock and surprise when the family thought it was me !!! This is my livelihood and alison was quite happy to let my reputation and buisness be tarnished with such an accusation for her own selfish greed … I’m glad that she got what she deserved . And I’m also glad that the relationship between myself . The lady in question and her family has been repaired TRUST is a big thing !!!