A pensioner said she is too frightened to stay in her home after her neighbour broke in while she was away for the weekend.
The 75-year-old trusted “genuine and kind” Sharon Scargill, who she had shared cups of coffee with, enough to confide in her that she was going to visit relatives.
But Scargill took advantage of this knowledge and broke into the widow’s Longwood house, helping herself to thousands of pounds worth of her possessions.
The victim said that the appalling crime left her feeling socially isolated after Scargill took away her laptop and tablet devices, her means of communicating with friends.
Kirklees Magistrates’ Court heard that she no longer felt safe in her home knowing that the woman who raided it lives just 10 doors away.
Scargill pleaded guilty to burglary on the day that she was due to stand trial at the Huddersfield court.
Prosecutor Alex Bozman said that on June 26 the victim, who lives alone at the Vicarage Road following the death of her husband last December, was packing up her car and had a conversation with Scargill.
The 48-year-old asked her if she was going away and she confirmed her plans to visit her grandchildren.
She returned to find that her front bay window had been smashed to enter and carry out a “thorough but tidy” search of the house.
Blood found near a pulled back curtain matched Scargill’s. She was arrested with a stolen Radley make-up bag belonging to the victim found in her possession.
Other items stolen from the home by Scargill and not recovered included silver and gold bracelets, a necklace, a cygnet ring, a Radley tote bag, an item of engraved glass, candles, a laptop, two tablets and a passport.
The victim said that she had to travel to Liverpool to obtain a new passport and pay for extra security measures to be installed at her house, including CCTV equipment.
Mr Bozman said: "The victim says she’s been left feeling very vulnerable and doesn’t feel safe in her own home.
“She said: 'The crime has affected me so much that I’m considering selling my home which I’ve lived in for 45 years and me and my husband built together.
'The fact that this lady lives 10 doors on from me is unbearable as I could bump into her at any time.
'I feel this woman has preyed on me. I thought that she was a kind and genuine friend.
'Knowing she’s only a few metres away scares me and keeps me awake at night.
'The impact of this has been devastating, I feel broken after this.'"
Mr Bozman added that the crime has had a great social impact on the elderly woman as she no longer goes to her weekly band practices because she is frightened to return home in the dark.
She is also unable to keep in contact with her Facebook friends due to the theft of her laptop and tablets.
Daniel Smith, mitigating, said that Scargill’s last conviction was in 2014 for drink-driver and she 'could not believe' her behaviour.
He told magistrates: “She would say ‘hello’ to her neighbour and the complainant had been to her home for coffee.
“On the evening of the offence she’d had a bottle of wine and been taking medication for her anxiety and depression.
“She’s at a loss to explain what happened but accepts full responsibility for the hurt and distress this has caused.”
Magistrates, who heard that Scargill plans to move to a new tenancy in Dalton, sentenced her to 24 weeks in prison suspended for 24 weeks.
Chairman Martin Wood told her: “This is one of the hardest sentencing exercises we’ve ever had to go through in our 20 years of experience.
“If it was any other person you would be going to prison as this is a very, very nasty offence.
“This is going to affect the victim for the rest of her life and I’m almost at a loss for words.”
Mr Wood told Scargill that it must have taken her two trips to remove the haul of property belonging to her neighbour but spared her from going to prison because of her young daughter.
She was ordered to complete a community order with 25 days of rehabilitation activities.
Magistrates told her to pay £500 compensation to her victim and made an indefinite restraining order banning her from contacting the pensioner or entering Vicarage Road.
