'Despicable' carer was cramming in takeaways while she left a vulnerable 60-year-old to go hungry

A woman swiped tens of thousands from the vulnerable man she was meant to be caring for and spent it on Amazon Prime, Netflix, betting shops, jewellery and takeaways.

Rachel Dawes, also known as Rachel Evans, raided the bank account of Gary Stewart over a period of three and a half years while she was supposed to be looking after him as a carer employed by Wirral-based Sage Care Ltd. The mum of two, of Kingsway South in Warrington, stole £30,765.30 from the "vulnerable" 60-year-old, who had learning disabilities, between September 2017 and March 2021, leaving him with just £65.95 in his bank and 38p on his meter.

Her plot however was rumbled when she was suspended from her job due to not completing care records and allowing clients to visit her home. This resulted in another carer, Wendy Beckett, visiting Mr Stewart on March 26, 2021. She was shocked to find him living in "uninhabitable" conditions, with no food and just 38p of emergency cash left on the meter. She took him food shopping, but found there was not enough money in his account to pay for it.

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At Liverpool Crown Court today, prosecutor Ben Stanley said: "Ms Beckett looked through some of his bank statements. Mr Stewart said the bank statements were unopened because the defendant (Dawes) would shout at him if he opened them without her. There were also more bank statements hidden under the carpet in the cupboard which Mr Stewart was not aware of. Upon examination of the bank statements, Ms Beckett noticed there were irregular payments, including regular pharmacy and school payments."

Concerned, Ms Beckett contacted Sage Care, and a further investigation found a long string of