Vile Portsmouth drug addict couple pretending to be Good Samaritans target vulnerable old lady before stealing purse and then returning to house - leaving her ‘frightened’

Disgraced Cosham drug addicts Lisa Plested, 47, and Ashley Watson, 30, were jailed for tormenting the frail pensioner after returning to her home address on two occasions having already pocketed £400 in a taxi.

The unscrupulous menaces ‘targeted’ the previously ‘outgoing’ woman in Tesco before persuading her to share a lift home in a taxi with them - all so they could score their next hit.

During the journey to her Hawthorn Crescent home the calculating crooks stole her purse with £400 and a bank card inside, Portsmouth Crown Court heard.

The following day Plested and Watson, both of Ashford Close, then tried to steal from her bank card but were thwarted after not having her pin code.

But the desperate druggies deployed their next move to rip-off the lady after going back to her address and handing back her purse - minus the cash - to convince her of their decency.

Police staff investigator, Catherine Cole, said: ‘They invited themselves into the victims home for a cup of tea and while there, they used the victims mobile phone to send a text to her son asking him for the pin number for her bank card. They then left the victims address, taking a number of her toiletries with them.

‘A few hours later they returned to the victims house for a second time, this time banging on the door frightening the victim, who then called us.

‘Plested and Watson were identified and arrested a few hours later.’

Prosecutor Victoria Lovett told the court: ‘(The victim) was frightened and did not want them there. When they returned to her address she was too scared to answer the door and called police.’

The victim, in a statement read out to court, said she was ‘worried about bumping into them’ and now has ‘nightmares’.

‘I feel extremely anxious and want to move out of my flat,’ she added.

Both defence barristers disagreed over who played the key role with Christopher Pix, for Plested, saying she was ‘led by Watson’.

But Jonathan Underhill, for Watson, hit back: ‘I take issue that Mr Watson was in charge of this. (Plested) is a more experienced drug user.’

He said Watson was a heroin and crack cocaine addict and targeted the house so he could purchase more drugs.

Judge William Ashworth said it was a ‘targeted attack on a clearly vulnerable victim’ before adding: ‘You were pretending to be Good Samaritans but were trying to pillage from her.

‘You changed her behaviour from outgoing to now being anxious and scared. It had a substantial emotional impact on her.’

Both were locked away for three years.

Plested admitted burglary, two counts of theft, and making off without payment - relating to when she failed to pay for the taxi to the victim’s home.

Watson admitted burglary and fraud.

Police investigator Ms Cole added: ‘Plested and Watson deliberately targeted a vulnerable, elderly woman.’

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