A thief was caught on camera crawling along the ground then grabbing a purse from his 70-year-old victim’s walking frame.

Carl Bleach kept his head bowed rather than watch as CCTV footage of his theft was played to Oxford Crown Court on Friday.

The disgusted 31-year-old told the judge of the video: “That person there was a rotten junkie.” He added later: “I couldn’t even see that, boss. I could not even watch it.”

Prosecutor Scott Forman said Bleach had befriended his victim, a Banbury pensioner, after she gave him money when he was begging in the town.

The woman’s daughters installed CCTV at her home after they noticed items going missing.

He was caught on camera on May 10 last year crawling across her living room floor then rummaging in the woman’s walking for her purse. The woman was just feet away, watching TV with her back to Bleach, when he carried out the theft.

The defendant returned to the room and sat down, speaking normally to his victim.

Sentencing him to six months’ imprisonment suspended for a year, Recorder John Hardy QC said: “You were a down and out homeless person, living on the streets, little support, no company to speak of, no prospects and no future.

“Out of the blue whilst you were begging, a lady of a truly saintly disposition offered to help you, took you into her home, made you welcome, gave you a purpose in life and you rewarded her by grossly breaching her trust and by callously stealing from her as she sat in the living room of her own house.

“Some crimes, Mr Bleach, are relatively minor. In one sense this theft is relatively minor compared to some of the other matters with which this court deals.

“But that is not the end of it. Far from it. This would have had a major impact upon her; shaken her belief, shaken her faith And yet I am told that you and she have since met and in that spirit of Christianity which she embodies she has forgiven you.

“As you recognise, your act in stealing from her was about as low as you can get; mean, despicable, nasty and callous.

“Members of the public expect that persons who conduct themselves as you did towards her should be sentenced to prison and significant periods of imprisonment at that.”

The judge said he was ‘just’ persuaded that it was right to suspend the sentence. Bleach was remorseful, was addressing his drug problem while in custody and had been jailed for other offences committed after the purse theft.

Bleach, of Kings Road, Banbury, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to theft by finding. He must complete a drug rehabilitation programme and the thinking skills course.

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