A heartless burglar swiped a purse full of cash from the County Durham home of an elderly woman who suffers from dementia.
Colin Quinn walked into the vulnerable woman's home via her back garden and stole her purse which may have contained up to £1,000 in cash.
Due to her condition, the victim only realised her purse was missing days later, and Quinn was finally caught after her nephew reviewed her CCTV.
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Quinn, 41, appeared at Durham Crown Court on Thursday to be sentenced for burglary.
He pleaded guilty to the charge at the hearing.
Anthony Pettengell, prosecuting, said the burglary took place on January 23, at a home in West Street, Ferryhill, County Durham.
"The victim was living at the address with her sister, who was in hospital at the time", he said.
The victim, who suffers from dementia and "relies on family help", reported to her nephew that she couldn't find her purse on January 28.
"A search was undertaken but the purse was not found", Mr Pettengell said.
"She could not remember the amount that was in the purse, but said it was near to £1,000, something her nephew confirms would not be unusual for her or her sister to have."
The woman's nephew then reviewed her CCTV, which showed Quinn entering the back garden at around 3.15pm on January 23.
He then entered the home through the back door and rifled through two handbags before finding the purse.
"He returns to the garden, ducking down below the kitchen window, suggesting he was aware the house was occupied before leaving", Mr Pettengell added.
In a victim statement, the woman's nephew said the burglary had "devastated" him as he was "unable to prevent it".
He said the home is occupied by "two elderly, sick ladies who require almost full time care", and that he was "sick to death".
Quinn was later arrested and said he "could not remember" if he'd committed the crime after initially "refusing to engage with officers".
The court was told Quinn, of Osbourne Terrace, Ferryhill, had 50 previous convictions for 103 offences, 61 of which were theft related.
It was also his third dwelling burglary.
Amrit Jandoo, mitigating, said Quinn was a hard worker and had been trained as a forklift truck driver.
"He was in his work clothing at the time as he had finished his shift for that day and gone on to commit the offence", he said.
"With the support of probation he can still find the correct rehabilitation within the community."
Mr Jandoo added that Quinn should be given credit for his early guilty plea.
Judge James Adkin, the Recorder of Durham, said: "The property you burgled was the home of two particularly elderly and vulnerable individuals, one of which was suffering from dementia.
"One occupant was in hospital and didn't encounter you."
He added: "There's nothing in the circumstances of what your barrister has said that shows it would be unjust to impose an immediate custodial sentence."
Judge Adkin jailed Quinn for 32 months.
