A WOMAN who defrauded her partner’s OAP mum out of more than £16,000 in benefits has been given three months to begin paying back the cash.

Lynne Davis appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on Monday having previously pleaded guilty to obtaining £16,470 by fraud.

The 44-year-old widow admitted making more than 40 cash withdrawals, of between £200 and £500 at a time, using the elderly Ardrossan woman’s bank card between January and December 2020.

The victim, 66, had given Davis access to her bank account and PIN and believed the con artist was purchasing shopping and taking out money for her. However, Davis, of West King Street in Helensburgh, completed regular transactions using the card including seven withdrawals – some from ATMs in Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Irvine – amounting to £3,000 in total in just 12 days in March 2020.

A court hearing last month was told that Davis had been left in “dire financial straits” following the death of her husband in 2016, as debts had accumulated during the course of their marriage.

At the August 1 hearing, Sheriff Murdoch MacTaggart further deferred sentence until November 21 to allow Davis to start repaying the sum.

READ MORE: Widow admits defrauding partner's OAP mum out of £16,000 in benefits