Addict took savings of veteran, 91

A crack addict who stole the life savings of a 91-year-old war veteran was jailed for five years today.

Serial burglar Samantha Russell, 29, cased stroke victim Ernest Chapman's home before returning 24 hours later to trick him into answering his door.

The mother-of-two, who was only caught because police found her DNA on the pensioner's cigarette lighter, barged past him and began to methodically ransack his flat.

The pensioner vainly tried to stop her as she rifled through drawers and cupboards, Southwark Crown Court was told. Finally, exhausted, he sank into his armchair just as she found his ?6,500 life savings.

"He had put it aside for his funeral expenses so as not to be a burden to his family," said Rachel Lawrence, prosecuting. "It has never been recovered."

Russell then picked up his lighter and lit a cigarette before leaving. Detectives recovered her DNA from it and identified her from the police database.

Russell, from Homerton, whose previous convictions include breaking into the home of a 90-year-old man, pleaded guilty to one count of burglary on 19 November.