'Obese' Rotherham thief preyed on own family

A “MORBIDLY obese" Rotherham woman who stole more than £43,000 from her family to pay off debts had her sentence slashed after Appeal Court judges were told of her poor health.

Julie Ann Ward (48), of Waverley View, Catcliffe, stole and pawned her sister's jewellery and defrauded her 77-year-old uncle of thousands of pounds.

She admitted counts of theft and fraud at Sheffield Crown Court last August and was sentenced to three-and-a-half years’ imprisonment.

But the sentence was cut to two-and-a-half years today by Lord Justice Laws, Mr Justice MacDuff and Sir Hugh Bennett at the Court of Appeal.

“Although this is a mean and nasty offence, or offences, nevertheless given her state of health and previous clean character, three-and-a-half years is too long,” said Lord Justice Laws.

Mr Justice MacDuff said “morbidly obese” Ward targeted her sister, Sadie Gilbank, and her uncle, Jack Weston, to pay her debts and buy clothes for herself.

Her financial troubles began when her partner died, leaving her owing money and under pressure from debt collection agencies, he told the court.

While helping out her elderly uncle, she took advantage of his trust to remove large sums of money from his savings, totalling more than £43,000.

And, when left with the keys to her sister’s home when Mrs Gilbank was on holiday, she stole and pawned £2,500 worth of jewellery, said the judge.

Medical reports published for the Crown Court showed that Ward suffered from serious weight issues and other conditions, as well as symptoms of depression.

Reducing the sentence, Mr Justice MacDuff said the crown court judge had taken too high a “starting point” before giving her credit for her pleas and mitigation.

She will serve half of her two-and-a-half year sentence in prison before release on licence.