A JURY in the case of a carer accused of stealing money from an elderly dementia sufferer has been discharged after it failed to reach a verdict.

The jurors remained deadlocked following the trial of Jacob Cartwright, after being sent out to consider their verdicts on Monday.

But the jury was discharged the following day after hours of deliberations.

The Crown Prosecution Service will decide on February 22 if it will ask for a re-trial.

During the case, the jury heard how 87-year-old Phylis Ward’s nephew became suspicious after finding a receipt for £100 from a cash machine in her purse, as she did not know how to use the cash dispenser.

But Cartwright, who was employed by the Homecare Support agency, told the court Mrs Ward, who lived in a sheltered flat at Stevenson Court in Kearsley, had been very distressed about not having enough money on her and had insisted he use her bank card to withdraw a total of £900 over three days.

Cartwright, aged 26, of Albert Road, Farnworth, was sacked by his employers and Mrs Ward died in April last year. He denied two counts of theft.