A WOMAN committed the “highest breach of trust”, “pilfering” more than £90,000 from her ailing mother, a court heard.

Lucie Davis was granted power of attorney over her now late mother, Valerie North’s affairs, when she was admitted to a care home.

But the highly-respected teacher and mother-of-three used her own mother’s account for family spending, leaving insufficient funds to pay her care home fees.

Durham Crown Court heard she was able to pay some money back, but then lapsed back into spending.

Davis and husband Peter were initially jointly charged with theft of £111,840, from January 2016 to May 2018.

They denied that charge at Durham Crown Court last November and the case was listed for a trial in June.

A revised indictment, alleging theft, of £92,944, was admitted by 52-year-old Lucie Davis, last month.

The defendant, who has no previous convictions, claimed some expenditure was for adaptations to their home, in Bryans Leap, Burnopfield, should her mother have returned to live with them again after a while in care.

Judge Ray Singh adjourned last month's hearing and asked the defence to pinpoint which payments from the £92,000-plus was said to be for Mrs North’s benefit.

Davis was remanded in custody pending sentence.

Jennifer Coxon, for Davis, told the sentencing hearing she now wishes to be sentenced on the full prosecution case, that she illegally took the £92,000.

“She accepts the full amount, although it’s clear looking at the bank statements, they haven’t got a lot to show for what they spent the money on.”

Miss Coxon said when Davis’ mother lived with the family she contributed to the household bills, but the defendant continued to draw that money even when she moved to the care home.

“They put themselves in the financial position where they heavily relied on her mother’s income and couldn’t work out how to operate without it.”

Judge Ray Singh, who was presented four character references on behalf of Davis, said: “She has been a teacher for more than 30 years and clearly a very good teacher, working at various schools teaching music.

“Unfortunately, due to this conviction, she’s not likely to work in that sector again.”

Imposing a 25-month prison sentence, Judge Singh told her: “You come to the court for pilfering, stealing your mother’s life savings, despicable and mean offences.

“You may have been trying to live above your means and, therefore, were motivated wholly by greed.

“All the good work you have done in your adulthood has, I’m afraid, gone to waste.

“These are awful, awful offences committed against your mother, who lacked the capacity so you were given the power of trust.

“It was a breach of the highest degree of that trust.”

Martin Towers, for the Crown, said it no longer wishes to proceed against Mr Davis, also 52, and the case against him was, “left to lie on the file”.