COUNCIL caretaker Keith Wilkes has been jailed for three months for stealing from an 83-year-old woman while he was working in her home as a painter and decorator.

She had told him about valuable collections of coins and records, Kidderminster magistrates heard.

Later they were missing and police were called.

Wilkes, 53, of Dunlin Drive, Spennells, had been found guilty after he denied thefts of property valued at £800.

He worked full time for Wyre Forest District Council as caretaker at the Kidderminster Youth Centre, said prosecutor Sue Cliff.

He made extra money by painting and decorating.

He learned about the collections while he was working in Mrs Violet Proctor's home in Walton Close, Kidderminster.

The offence was a breach of an elderly woman's trust, said Mrs Cliff.

Wilkes maintained his denial of the theft, his solicitor, Paul Hitchcock, told the magistrates, but he had to accept the decision of the court.

As well as taking advantage of the trust placed in him, Wilkes had cast suspicion on others during his trial, magistrate Susan Price told him.