A bingo addict that stole £90,000 off residents, while working as a care home manager is likely to get a jail sentence it has been reported.

Jennie Preston, who is 51 years old, has pleaded guilty to eight charges of theft from residents at the Dewi-Sant Residential Home in Plymouth. She is due to be sentenced at the Plymouth Crown Court on 22nd July.

It was presented to the court that the defendant had taken money from 4 patients between 2008 and 2010 with one patient being the victim of £42,000 worth of theft.

The care home which has 32 beds and located in the Mannamead area of the city specialises in looking after the elderly particularly those with dementia.

Prosecutor Jo Martin told the court: "The victims had Alzheimer's or dementia of some description.

"They didn't suffer as a result of her theft but the theft will have caused them upset and concern and fear about trust."

The home is described on the local council website as "secure, relaxed and homely environment in which care, well-being and comfort are of prime importance".

The Quality Care Commission awarded the home with a two-star “good” in March 2010. However, a random inspection over the summer raised "significant and serious concerns about the safety and well-being of the people using this service" and a further inspection in September was further critical of the care standards.

Preston, who is no longer employed by the care home admitted one charge of false accounting.

The court was told her son was currently serving with the RAF in Afghanistan.

Defence counsel Andrew Maitland suggested that the police investigation included looking in to Preston’s online bingo addiction.

"This form of addiction needs to be confirmed [prior to the sentencing]," he added.

Judge Francis Gilbert warned Preston, who has been granted bail, that she faced being sent to jail following sentencing.

"It is obvious that some of them [the victims] will have been distressed and considerably upset," he told her.