THE jury in the trial of a former councillor accused of stealing £46,000 from a widower was told yesterday that everything she did was for his benefit.

The retired telecoms worker is said by prosecutors to have been “cynically manipulated” by Stephanie Todd after she befriended him in August 2013.

Ms Todd – at the time a Richmondshire District Councillor – is on trial at Teesside Crown Court where she is accused of plundering his bank account over three years.

A jury heard that the 57-year-old cooked and washed for the pensioner, and did his food shopping, but abused her position of trust as a carer to also steal his money.

Prosecutor Paul Newcombe said Ms Todd persuaded him to change solicitors and write a new will – leaving his home and contents to her rather than a cat charity.

She is also alleged to have tried to gain Power of Attorney over the 98-year-old’s financial affairs, but the move never took place when paperwork was not completed.

A witness told the court that she was introduced to the OAP by Ms Todd and had been his carer for five to six weeks until the hours and pay did not make it worthwhile.

Sharon Pye agreed with defence barrister Jonathan Walker under cross-examination that the man and his home were “both in a bit of a state” when she first met him.

She said it took “quite a time” to tidy them up, and Ms Todd also got him a place at the St John’s Community Day Centre in Catterick Garrison. “She was very good to him,” Ms Pye said.

Picking up on a prosecution claim, Mr Walker asked: “Did you ever get the impression that Stephanie was trying to isolate him?” The witness replied: “No”. She was asked: “Could that be anything further from the truth?” She answered: “No.”

Ms Todd, of Shute Road, Catterick Garrison, who met the pensioner in the summer of 2013, denies a charge of theft.

A statement from another witness, Charlotte Digan – who works with Ms Todd’s sister in a hair salon – had her statement read to the jury of six men and six women.

It said: “Steph took him under her wing, going around daily, feeding him and getting him into the St John’s Centre.”

The pensioner – profoundly deaf and often confused – is too frail to give evidence, and videos of two interviews he gave to police have been played to the jury.

The trial continues.