A Macclesfield woman stole £20,000 from her elderly mother.

Janet Davies has been sentenced to 10 months in prison suspended for 12 months.

It comes after the 65-year-old of Great King Street pleaded guilty to the charge of retaining a wrongful credit.

The court heard how Davies secretly applied for attendance allowance on behalf of her mother, who had no knowledge of the application or the payments that were being regularly made to her account.

Under the guise the benefits were for her mother, Davies fraudulently received payments totalling £19,577.45 from the Department for Work and Pensions, between 2017 and 2021.

Detective Sergeant Laura Fox, of Macclesfield CID, said: "Davies knowingly took advantage of her elderly mother to commit audacious acts whilst in a position of trust.

"She should have been managing and supporting her vulnerable mother's finances, not exploiting them for her own financial gain.

"Her offending has had a detrimental effect on the victim in this case and resulted in a significant financial loss for the Department of Work and Pensions, and subsequently Davies is now facing the consequences of her actions."

Davies was sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Thursday, August 21 (Credit: Nub News)

The matter was reported to Cheshire Police and following her arrest, Davies denied all offences put to her by officers.

Despite her silence, she later pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Thursday, August 21.

Alongside her suspended prison sentence, Davies was ordered to pay £237 in costs and undertake 150 hours of unpaid work.

She was also given a 18-month supervision order.

Davies' mother said: "This has broken me.

"I cannot believe my own daughter has done this whilst being my power of attorney."