A 71-year-old carer has been accused of abusing her position of trust by taking more than £70,000 from an elderly patient's bank account.

Northallerton Magistrates Court heard Hazel Gant faced six fraud charges relating to a 92-year-old woman from Sandhutton, near Thirsk.

Philip Hammond, prosecuting, alleged numerous offences had occurred between March 2008 and October 2013 and Mrs Gant, of Pontefract, West Yorkshire, had intended to gain financially.

Mrs Gant did not enter a plea.

Magistrates transferred the case to Teesside Crown Court for a hearing on February 26.