A BUILDER who stole £700 from a confused pensioner has escaped jail - but a judge stressed that she did not want the public to think that was "the norm".

Bankrupt John Harvey, 64, was not fit to do community punishment but the effects of a short term of custody on him would be catastrophic, Burnley Crown Court heard.

The defendant, of Coronation Road, Brierfield, was given a three-year conditional discharge, after earlier admitting five counts of theft from Horace Moorcroft, who has since died.

Sentencing, Recorder Angela Nield said Mr Moorcroft, who had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease, had been an easy target.

She said the defendant had succumbed to a single victim and not targeted old people. He was not likely to reoffend but the sentence did not reflect the seriousness of what he had done.

The judge said no indication should be given to the general public that the conditional discharge was a sentence they would see on a day-to-day basis for such crimes. It had been imposed for the particular circumstances of the case.

Recorder Nield told the court she had at first been thinking of jail as such offences were always seen as serious. However, a letter from Harvey's doctor had had a profound impact on the sentence she could impose.

She said the defendant, who had overcharged for work done for Mr Moorcroft, or taken cash for work not done, had been greatly affected by the fact that his son was diagnosed as HIV positive and later died.

She went on: "Regrettably, offences of this kind are very often linked to people who are vulnerable and who unfortunately, in moments of stress, prey upon people who are more vulnerable than they are."

Harvey was ordered to pay £300 compensation to Mr Moorcroft's estate.

Mark Stuart, defending, said Harvey was suitable for light community work and was more than willing to put something back into society.

The court was left with a stark choice, as a conditional discharge was inappropriate to reflect the gravity of the offences and community rehabilitation was not available to the defendant through no fault of his own.

He added that even though it may "stick in the throat," it would be wrong to go up the scale to a jail term. The court may be driven to imposing either a curfew order or a conditional discharge.