A care worker who preyed on two vulnerable pensioners and stole at least £300,000 from them has been jailed for six years.

Maria Anderson of Melfort Road, Thornton Heath, worked as a carer for elderly and vulnerable people.

Blackfriars Crown Court heard the 49-year-old preyed on two elderly women aged 87 and 91, and abused her position of power as their carer, gaining their trust and embedding herself in their lives.

The court heard Anderson took advantage of her victims' inability to manage their financial affairs, taking hundreds of thousands of pounds from them and gaining power of attorney in order to profit from the sale of their properties.

She then went on to defraud the 62-year-old son of one of the victims.

The carer was arrested on September 4 last year, after officers from the community safety unit received allegations of theft from a number of elderly victims.

Anderson was charged with five counts of fraud, two counts of theft and two counts of removing criminal property.

She pleaded not guilty to the charges, but was found guilty by a jury on Wednesday.

Detective Inspector Shaun White from Lambeth's Public Protection Unit (PPU) said: "Anderson is a calculating individual who preyed on vulnerable elderly adults.

"Instead of helping those who needed it most, she defrauded unsuspecting elderly victims of their savings for her own benefit."