Thief who targeted Pontefract 83-year-old said she preferred prison to being homeless

Mother-of-five Natalie Longley was held on remand after deliberately targeting an 83-year-old man in Pontefract and stealing his TV after inviting her into his home.

But Leeds Crown Court heard how homeless Longley had managed to come off heroin while being held in prison and onto a methadone programme, and was making steady progress.

Judge Penelope Belcher told her: “It’s sad that prison is appealing to you because of the stability it offers, and you have no access to drugs or temptations.

"But at some stage you have got to grapple with life in the community.”

Prosecutor Bashir Ahmed said 33-year-old Longley had befriended the elderly man when she spoke to him outside of his assisted-living home on Baileygate Court in Pontefract at the end of last year.

He gave her a cigarette and £5 after saying she needed it for food. She would continue to regularly visit him, asking for money, telling him she was sleeping on the streets. On March 27, he invited her into his home, and when he was distracted, she stole his TV and bank card.

She was caught on CCTV and recognised by a local PCSO. The bank card was never recovered.

Then on April 3 she returned to the man’s home, this time with a female friend. Longley said she needed to speak with the man in private, and when they went into another room, the second woman stole his replacement TV.

The pair were later seen in Cash Generators in Pontefract trying to sell the second stolen TV. Longley was later arrested and admitted stealing the first TV but claimed she did not know her friend would steal the second.

She admitted theft and handling stolen goods. A charge of burglary, which she had denied, was ordered to lie on file. Her barrister, James Littlehales said: “It’s sad that her only stability comes from her incarceration. She has been on remand for five weeks. She is clearly someone who needs support and assistance.”

She had been living in a flat on Farrow Road in Armley, but it had been taken over by drug addicts who had destroyed the premises, ripping out the electrics. She said she had not been to the flat in a year and was technically homeless.

She had been in Pontefract because her partner lived there, but was banned from his home.

Before her remand, Longley had a £150-a-day drug habit, taking heroin, cocaine and sometimes the synthetic cannabinoid, spice. She would sometimes turn to prostitution to feed her habit. None of her children were still in her care.

Judge Belcher gave her an 18-month community order with 12 rehabilitation days, which she said were “designed to help her”.

She told Longley: “This was deliberate targeting of a victim known to be vulnerable. He trusted you. This was mean and nasty, he had been very nice to you and he felt sorry for you.”