A daughter has hit out after a carer was jailed for conning her elderly mum out of her life savings.

Susan Kettley of Ashley Road, Telford, was jailed for 20 months after she stole more than £17,000 from Maria Hayward, in her 70s, who she was caring for at her home in Beaconsfield.

Kettley also applied for a £10,000 loan and credit cards in the victim’s name, and paid for her car insurance with the stolen money.

Maria’s daughter Nalu branded Kettley “evil to the core”, speaking about her guilt at having let her into her mother’s life.

She said: “It has been a difficult time. You feel an immense guilt for putting someone in your parent’s life that would do that to them.”

Nalu, who lives in Isleworth, started looking for a carer for her mother, who has Alzheimer’s, after the birth of her son, who had to have several operations after he was born prematurely.

She said:” [My mother] was diagnosed with it two years ago. I have always cared for her.

“I also had to have an operation [after the birth of her son] due to the complications. By that time my mum had deteriorated and I just couldn’t do it anymore because I wasn’t very well at all.

“When they have diminished, they have to have 100 per cent care and attention. And I was struggling with it all.

“I didn’t want to put her in a home so I decided that if I got someone to come and care for her it would make it a bit easier for me.

“I thought I would have the peace of mind that my mum would be care for and I would be able to bond with my son and recover.

“It wasn’t going to be long-term, it would be just until we got better.”

Nalu first realised something was wrong when she stopped seeing her mother’s bank statements, which she would previously see.

She said: “In June my mum was saying things like she couldn’t find her wallet, and Sue would say they had found it.

“She was very nice, a lovely lady, very softly spoken.

“I hadn’t seen any statements from my mum’s bank in a while, so I got worried and called them up.

“The first thing you hear when you call up is the balance. I was completely shocked to hear how low it was.”

Kettley was arrested and charged with one count of theft and four counts of fraud by false representation on August 4 this year, and pleaded guilty to all charges against her at Amersham Crown Court on September 25.

An emotional Nalu added: “I hate this woman, I can’t ever forgive her. I think she’s evil to the core. She is a horrible person who abused her position.

“It was her life savings. We have managed to get the money back but I can’t ever get back those months that I would have had with my mum.

“She fast-tracked my mum’s illness. It caused her to get worse. I can’t get that lost time back.

“She took my mum away.”