Thieving pensioners oldest couple to be tagged

Greedy pensioners Ian Bartlett, 77, and Rosemary Collier, 68, will become the oldest ..

Greedy pensioners Ian Bartlett, 77, and Rosemary Collier, 68, will become the oldest couple to be tagged. The two will not be allowed to leave home between 7 PM and 7 AM. This is the consequence of their thievery, which led them to plunder the wealth of an extremely ill woman, 85, who considered them as ‘good friends’. 

The ruling was announced by Judge Michael O’Sullivan, along with a message to the couple: “You should be ashamed of what you did. This lady trusted you implicitly. You plundered her account.”

He added: “Your behavior can only be described as despicable.”

The ill old woman involved is stroke victim Patricia Hardy, who was left mentally unable to manage her finances. She entrusted her bank card and chequebook to the couple in 2008, and put them in-charge of paying some of Mrs. Hardy’s care bills and other debts. While Patricia lay in the hospital two years ago, Bartlett and Collier withdrew the maximum daily allowance from her bank account. 

The crooked pair did not stop there. They also got in touch with her lawyers to try and change her will and even had the old woman’s car – a Toyota Yaris - signed over to them.

The two were busted when nurses caught them rifling through Mrs. Hardy’s locker and handbag. The couple, who have been living together for 20 years, were arrested in 2010. Found in their home was a puzzle book that contained their attempts to forge Mrs. Hardy’s signature. The two was charged with stealing more than £12,300. They pleaded guilty to stealing £2,100 and for pinching the old woman’s £3000 car. 

The pair was sentenced to 10 months each in jail and a year’s suspension. They also had to repay Mrs. Hardy £2,100, and were given a four-month curfew. The two, however, will both be allowed to attend the wedding of Bartlett’s grandchild in September.