A WOMAN has appeared in court accused of robbing an epileptic man in his own home in the early hours of the morning.

Julie Jones is alleged to have turned up at the victim’s door, at 5.10am on Sunday July 30, seeking the return of a lap-top computer, which the householder was said to have been repairing on her behalf.

Although he told her he had already repaired the device and returned it to her, a confrontation is said to have taken place in which she is alleged to have forcibly taken £15 from him.

Durham Crown Court heard that the man, in his fifties, suffers epilepsy and is hard of hearing.

He suffered a fit in the wake of the incident, although he was tended to by his wife at the scene, at his home in Ashton Street, Easington Colliery, and made a recovery within a short time.

Appearing at a plea and trial preparation hearing at the court, via video link from Low Newton Women’s Prison, Durham, the 33-year-old defendant, of West Avenue, Easington Colliery, denied the charge of robbery.

She did, however, admit two theft charges, both shoplifting incidents, in which she took razor blades from a Co-op store and household items from a B & M store, on July 29.

Asked about the robbery charge, defence counsel Deborah Smithies said the defendant has no recollection of the alleged incident and agreed with Judge Christopher Prince that it would be for the prosecution to prove the case.

The hearing was adjourned for a trial, expected to last no more than a day, at the court on Wednesday November 15.

Judge Prince remanded the defendant to remain in custody until the trial, after which she will be sentenced for the shoplifting offences.