A DAUGHTER stole nearly £70,000 from her dementia-suffering mother to splash out on shopping sprees.

Debra Mann, 49, bought “frivolous and self-indulgent items” as she emptied her mother’s bank account for three years.

Mann, of Cardiff Road, Barry, was granted power of attorney in 2012 over the finances of her mother, Bertha, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

A court heard she plundered the 81-year-old’s account for online shopping sprees because she was “bored and depressed”.

And her thefts were only discovered when she ran out of cash to pay for the care home fees for her mother.

Prosecutor Laurence Jones told the court: “She took a total of £69,258.98 over three years.

“Mann had complex health problems and became bored and depressed when she could not leave the house.

“She drained her mother’s bank account and as a result could no longer afford to pay her care home fees.”

The court heard she went on an online shopping spree but the judge said her purchases were “nothing necessary – frivolous and self-indulgent items”.

Mann pleaded guilty to one count of fraud.

Her lawyer, Giles Hayes, told Cardiff Crown Court: “She is deeply remorseful for her conduct and I believe her remorse to be genuine.”

Judge Eleri Rees said: “This was a gross abuse of trust and caused a significant amount of loss. It was a serious case of fraud committed against your mother.

“A merciful factor is that your mother may not be aware she had been betrayed in this way.”

Mann was handed a two-year suspended sentence and ordered to carry out 20 days of rehabilitation.