'Heartless' mum-of-five preyed on cancer-hit and disabled shoppers in supermarket scam

30.06.2022 - 20:53 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

A career thief with 45 previous convictions was branded 'cynical' and 'heartless' by a judge who jailed her for preying on elderly shoppers in supermarkets for their purses.

One of mother-of-five Sharon Rooney's 14 victims was an 81-year-old woman recovering from bowel cancer out shopping in Aldi, Rochdale. A court heard she reached up to a shelf when Rooney said 'can I get that for you?' When she got to the tills she realised her purse was missing from her handbag, with Rooney going on to spend £300 on her bank card.

The victim said in a statement read out in court: "This crime made me feel extremely frightened and scared by what happened. I was shivering and shook up when I realised my purse had been stolen. All my life I have felt safe whilst shopping however since this incident, I no longer do and now carry my bag at the front of my body.

"I am recovering from bowel cancer and I feel as if I have been targeted. No one should have to feel this way when going shopping."

Other victims used mobility scooters and walking aids, and had disabilities, Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court heard. One lost a treasured photograph of her late parents she carried inside her purse. All 14 victims were elderly women aged between 63 and 89.

One, aged 78, said the theft had left her fearful of people behind her. She said in a statement: "This incident has shook me up and is a total shock to the system. I have never had anything like this happen to me before. It has changed how I shop and I even warn other members of the public who leave their handbag in their trolley not to do so.

"I also now always turn around and look behind me to see who is there and look over my shoulder. I don't like anyone behind me anymore. It has made me