Bogus charity workers 'blew kisses' at elderly victims after stealing jewellery and cash from their homes in Yorkshire

Monica Lilly and Daniella Stoica preyed on vulnerable people in their own homes by pretending to be working for a charity for the deaf.

The pair carried fake identification badges and documentation in a bid to trick their way into their victims' homes.

A court heard how they even went as far as pretending to be deaf in order to carry out offences.

Leeds Crown Court was told Lilly and Stoica appeared to "take delight" in their offending as they blew kisses at victims as they left after stealing valuables.

Lilly, 20, and Stoica, 21, were both jailed for four years and two months after pleading guilty to five counts of burglary and nine counts of fraud.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Robin Mairs said: "You left your victims bereft of money, jewellery and self-respect.

"You specifically targeted them as easy pickings and preyed on their good nature."

The pair travelled from the Manchester area to commit offences against victims in Boston Spa, Pontefract, Tadcaster and Selby.

One offence involved the targeting of a 90-year-old woman at her home in Pontefract on August 20 this year.

Stoica pretended to be deaf when they called at her home.

They were allowed in after asking for a drink of water and stole sentimental items including a gold watch and a bracelet with birthstones which represented members of the victim's family.

A 70-year-old woman was preyed upon in her home in Boston Spa the next day.

Stoica blew kisses at the victim as they left with £2,000 worth of jewellery including an engagement ring and an eternity ring.

The defendants stole £270 in cash after tricking their way into an 83-year-old woman's home in Tadcaster on August 23.

The fraud offences involved taking money from victims who believed they were donating money to a charity for the deaf when Lilly and Stoica called at their homes.

One of the victims was receiving cancer treatment at the time.

Some victims provided statements to the court in which they described feeling foolish and gullible after being tricked.

Others stated that they no longer felt safe at home.

The court heard Lilly and Stoica, both Romanian nationals, faced deportation after serving their prison sentences.

The defendants pleaded guilty to the offences on the basis that they were committed on behalf of others who were higher up in the chain of offending.

Judge Mairs told them: "You committed these offences with a calmness far beyond your age.

"These were not the offences of the fearful or the naive."