A GAMBLING addict who stole more than £17,000 from a vulnerable man to feed her slot machine habit has been jailed.
Janet Marshall wept as she was sentenced to eight months in prison for stealing from Neil Starkey, 41, over a period of six years.
Mr Starkey, who cannot live on his own, became so distressed by her constantly asking him for money that he lashed out at his mother and smashed up the family home.
It was only when he was arrested that Marshall's exploitation of him came to light.
Prosecuting, Richard Sheldon, said: "Mr Starkey craves relationships and is very vulnerable to exploitation.
"She stole £17,650 in small sums between 2006 and 2012.
"He would show her his wage slips and say, 'Look, you are taking all my money' and still she continued to take it.
"It started to affect him so much that he started to misbehave at work and at home.
"He couldn't stop giving her money."
Gambling addict Marshall pleaded guilty to stealing money from Mr Starkey, which she frittered away on slot machines and bets.
She met Mr Starkey, who is vulnerable as a result of being ill as a baby, at her daughter's wedding and they became friends.
In 2007, he made her sign a promise she would stop asking him for money and, in 2010, she was warned by police to stay away from him.
Mr Sheldon said: "She continued to do take money from him anyway.
"It started to affect him so much, he started to misbehave at work and at home.
"It was only when he was arrested because of the pressure from all this, that the police became aware of what Marshall was doing."
After his arrest, Mr Starkey made a formal complaint to the police and Marshall was arrested.
Defending Marshall, John Thackray said she wished she could turn back the clock, and appealed for the sentence to be suspended.
He said: "She was struggling with her addiction and asked to borrow money. This is where the cycle began. She was trapped in a bubble.
"She simply couldn't stop gambling and taking advantage of the complainant. She feels genuine shame."
Sentencing her to eight months in prison, Judge Simon Jack said: "You took his money and his happiness.
"He was so distressed by what was happening he started misbehaving and took it out on his mother.
"That is a mark on the affect you were having on him.
"This was despicable behaviour.
"He didn't have the power to say no. It was like stealing a baby's toys."
