An ambulance man who stole money from a pensioner before he took her to hospital for vital treatment has been spared a jail sentence.
John Duff preyed on the senior citizen when he went to collect her from her home for one of her thrice-weekly dialysis sessions.
A sheriff branded his behaviour a “gross breach of trust” when he appeared for sentence at Inverness Sheriff Court yesterday.
But Duff was ordered to carry out the maximum 300 hours of unpaid work rather than being sent to prison.
The 41-year-old, of 4a Fleurs Drive, Forres, admitted stealing a quantity of cash from a house at Balloch, near the Highland capital, between April 14 and July 18 last year.
Duff quit his job shortly after the offence was uncovered.
He had also faced allegations that on a journey between a house in Lawers Way in Inverness and the Royal Northern Infirmary in April last year he stole £20, and that he took £40 on a journey between a house in Cullaird Road in Inverness and the RNI.
He denied both those charges and his not guilty pleas were accepted by the Crown.
The court was told that Duff drove a vehicle which collected patients from their homes and transported them to various hospitals, including Raigmore and the RNI, both in Inverness.
Fiscal depute David Morton said his duties included going into patients’ homes, locking up after them and retrieving purses and other personal belongings.
The fiscal said: “It was during one of those visits to the woman’s house to take her to hospital that he stole the money – approximately £50-£60.”
Duff’s victim was 81-year-old Julia Mackenzie, who was alone in her house at the time.
The court heard that she had to attend hospital three times weekly for kidney dialysis as she has a serious condition and will require treatment for most of her life.
Duff’s agent, solicitor John MacColl, said his client was “disgusted” by what he had done.
He added: “He was in significant financial difficulties at the time but that is no excuse.
“The amount he took was a mere drop in the ocean compared to what he owed.”
Sheriff Margaret Neilson said: “The amount is not the issue, it is the gross breach of trust.”
Mr MacColl added: “He has expressed the appropriate amount of remorse and his personal life has suffered considerably since the offence.
“He has learned his lesson and the chances of him reoffending are so low they are virtually nil.”