Oswestry banker is jailed for theft from pensioner's account

A former building society manager from Shropshire has been jailed after stealing thousands of pounds from a 97-year-old customer.

Rebecca Entwistle, of College Road, Oswestry, denied stealing £13,390 belonging to Mercy Williams when she worked at the Nationwide Building Society in Oswestry. But the 26-year-old was found guilty by a jury at Shrewsbury Crown Court last week and was yesterday jailed for 18 months.

Judge Robin Onions told the mother-of-two that she had selected and taken advantage of her elderly victim after going into arrears on a loan and a mortgage.

He said: "You took money to reduce your debts. You and your partner were living well beyond your means.

"Mercy Williams, who was 97 at the time, is shortly to be 100 years of age.

"You may have told your family you didn't do it. You may have even convinced yourself you didn't do it. But the evidence was overwhelming.

"The sooner you get it into your head you did it, the sooner you can move on."

Judge Onions also told the court he was unimpressed by the defence case, which sought to cast suspicion on her colleagues.

He said he hoped Nationwide would carry out a review of its procedures following the case.

Mr Paul Smith, for Entwistle, said her family had made arrangements for her young children to be looked after while she served her sentence.

During her trial Entwistle also denied stealing £500 from retired accountant John Bartley and £200 from his wife, Carolyn. The offences were said to have happened between May 2009 and January 2010.

The jury failed to reach a verdict on the thefts from the Bartleys, and those two charges were ordered to lie on file.

Entwistle, who in the trial claimed she sometimes left her computer logged on and gave colleagues her password, told police she could not explain the withdrawals.

The court previously heard Entwistle was branch manager at Oswestry but was demoted to a customer account manager at her own request when she moved to Wrexham.

Documents, including a cheque, registration form and a power of attorney form relating to Mercy Williams were found in Entwistle's Wrexham office.