"All the faith and trust you have in people just drained out of me." A 91-year-old army veteran who set aside £6,000 for a 70th wedding anniversary cruise with his wife has described the awful moment he realised the money had been stolen - just one day before they were due to leave. John Shwenn and his wife Christina, 92, had booked the celebration cruise for September 3 last year.
But on September 2, when John's son took him out for a medical appointment, carer Olivia Hannah, 19, entered the couple's bedroom and swiped a bundle of cash from their bedroom drawer. Hannah, of Margaret Court, Widnes , appeared at Warrington Combined Court on Monday, August 6, where she pleaded guilty to theft. The court heard £6,000 had disappeared from the couple's bedroom, but Hannah insisted she had only stolen £2,000, which she produced after being confronted by her manager.
She was dismissed from her job and allowed to return home. Several days later, police searched her property but did not find the missing £4,000, and no suspicious deposits were made into her bank accounts. This was disputed by the crown, but her claims were accepted at a hearing after magistrates decided the amount stolen would not make a “material difference” to her sentence.
She was given six months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and 20 rehabilitation days, and ordered to pay the Shwenns £1,000 compensation. John, a former army man and great-grandad of 17, told the ECHO: "You can imagine how it was. It wa.