A former Wycombe District Councillor who betrayed the trust of two elderly women by stealing more than £20,000 from them has been jailed for 15 months.

Jeanette Mann, who lost her seat for the Disraeli ward at the 2011 election, shook her head and said "I don't believe this, I haven't done anything wrong" as she was led away to the cells to start her sentence today.

The 67-year-old, of Hughenden Road, High Wycombe, was convicted of two counts of dishonestly making a false representation to make gain for herself and one each of theft and possession or control of an article for use in fraud by an Aylesbury Crown Court jury.

The court heard that, motivated by "sheer greed," Mann drained one of her victim's two bank accounts of £26,370 and used the details of another to transfer more cash abroad.

But she subsequently lost the cash after herself falling victim to an online scam, where she transferred the money after receiving an email promising a larger return.

The loss of the money, stolen from 86-year-old Maria Sprenger, who lived in sheltered accommodation and had first met Mann on a bus, would come as no comfort to her victim, Judge Rebecca Brown told her while passing sentence.

She told Mann: "Your sheer greed led you to use Miss Sprenger's money in the hope of you obtaining even greater reward for yourself.

"The irony of all of it is you in fact have been a victim of a con.

"In doing so you drained Miss Sprenger of most of her savings and you put her into debt. That caused her stress and anxiety."

Judge Brown added: "I'm absolutely clear that even if your intention was not dishonest when you first spoke to her on that bus, once you knew her circumstances you put in a great deal of effort to befriend her further."

Mann also befriended 80-year-old constituent Joan Smith and, after befriending her, used her details to transfer more cash abroad to a US-based transfer company, the court heard.

Judge Brown said: "Your actions were deliberately dishonest and cynical. Two vulnerable ladies have fallen victim to your dishonesty."

The offences were committed in 2012, the year after the divorced former Conservative councillor Mann - who had no previous criminal conviction - lost her place on the council to Labour.

During her time at the council, Mann sat on the High Wycombe Town Committee, the Improvement and Review Commission, the Joint Staff Committee and was a standing deputy for the Planning Committee.