A care worker has to pay back more than £40,000 after she filed false timesheets to get paid for work she did not turn up for.

Ann Nelson, of Farm Road, Rainham, was sentenced on Monday (February 19) at Snaresbrook Crown Court after previously admitting fraud.

Nelson’s crime, Barking and Dagenham Council said, came to light when its social care department received an alert from the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.

This indicated that a resident’s carer had not been attending to his care needs despite timesheets suggesting otherwise.

Upon review, the council started a probe to establish whether Nelson and two others employed by the council were delivering the services they were getting paid for.

Read More: ‘Make It Here’ broadcast project comes to Barking and Dagenham

A council spokesperson said the trio had filled in their timesheets detailing the days and hours worked by them to get paid but these did not accurately represent the hours they provided care to the resident.

Barking and Dagenham Council's deputy leader Dominic Twomey said Nelson’s actions were “truly despicable and shameful”.

Nelson appeared in court last year where she pleaded guilty to one act of fraud by false representation and two other offences, after which the council sought a confiscation order of £40,159.

She has now been given a two-year suspended sentence, 15 days rehabilitation, 180 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay the £40,159.04 to the council as well as costs of £4,597.

A deadline of 56 days has been set for her to repay the said sum to the council.

Cllr Twomey added: “Mrs Nelson was employed by a vulnerable member of the community to provide them with much needed care, and not only did she fail to deliver the expected care, she also fraudulently claimed for hours not worked.

“I’m very pleased justice has been done and they’re not going to be able spend a penny of their ill-gotten gains – they should be hanging their head in shame."