'Wicked thief' Danielle Russell tried to steal £1,000 of life savings from her 84-year-old friend in his Whitby home

Danielle Russell, 44, befriended the elderly man and such was his trust in her that he invited her into his home in Whitby.

York Crown Court heard that when the victim left the living room to go into the kitchen, Russell – who had been drinking – seized her opportunity and went straight to a stack of DVDs where her friend kept a large amount of money.

When he returned to the lounge, he saw Russell clutching some DVDs and £500 in cash, which he seized from her, said prosecutor Michael Smith.

“He asked where the rest of it was,” added Mr Smith.

“She jumped up, pushed him and left the property.”

In fact, Russell had got away with another £600 which was not been spotted by the victim until it was too late. She was arrested later that day when police seized the cash.

Three months later, while on bail for the theft, Russell was found in possession of a penknife – illegal because its blade was more than 3in long.

She was already facing sentence for possessing 13 illicit, unprescribed tablets in September last year.

Russell, of The Ropery, Whitby, admitted theft, possessing Class C drugs and possession of a bladed article and appeared for sentence via video link on Friday after being remanded in custody.

Mr Smith said the victim was 84 years old at the time of the theft on February 16 this year.

“(Russell) came to his house, which she did occasionally, on the face of it to return a rucksack he had lent her,” said the prosecuting barrister.

“He invited her in. She stayed and drank alcohol, but the victim did not. The victim said she became drunk and quiet.

“At some point that evening he went to the kitchen and when he returned to the living room, she was near some DVDs where he had been keeping some money.”

Mr Smith said Russell was effectively trying to steal about £1,000 from the victim who managed to seize back the £500 he had seen in her hand.

Russell was arrested for the knife offence after a bus driver on a Leeds-to-Whitby service asked police to remove her from the bus.

“Police asked her if she had anything on her and the defendant produced a penknife from her pocket, saying she had it for protection,” said Mr Smith.

“Penknives can be legally possessed if they are less than 3in (long), but this was about 4in.”

Russell had a long criminal history dating back to the mid-1990s. Her rap sheet included 29 previous convictions for offences including obtaining money by deception, drugs possession, multiple thefts, battery, flouting court orders, criminal damage and being drunk and disorderly. She also had a previous conviction for knife possession from 2018.

Defence barrister Nick Peacock said Russell had a “long-standing” drink and drug problem and only had a hazy recollection of the offences.

Judge Sean Morris condemned the defendant for her “absolutely appalling record”.

He told Russell: “It’s unsurprising you have difficulties, given the amount of drugs and alcohol you imbibe, but what you did (to the elderly man) was wicked.

“You stole from a friend who was 84 years of age. Clearly, you knew he was vulnerable and you took some of his life savings, which is disgraceful.”

Jailing Russell for 17 months, Mr Morris said it was the least sentence he could impose for such a “monstrous” offence.