Distraction burglar confesses

Magistrates heard last Friday how Reid would knock on a victim's door and ask if she could have a pen and paper to write a note to a neighbour.

Once invited in she would distract the person while another gang member would search the house for valuables.

Chairman of the bench Mr A D Dhanraj told her: "You targeted people who were old and unwell, with their vulnerability being the reason you picked them.

"It was clearly planned and there was a method to what you were doing. The goods stolen were of sentimental value and have yet to be recovered."

The court heard how on May 29 the group used the ruse to gain access to the home of a wheelchair-bound 59-year-old resident of Feltham.

In a statement, he told how he let Reid into his living room where he was sitting with an 89-year-old friend.

But by the time the pair had realised there was a man in the house the pair had fled with valuable jewellery.

Earlier that day Reid also scammed an 85-year-old woman, of Barnlea Close, Feltham, who had her handbag stolen after falling for Reid's lies.

Another of the team's victims was an 85-year-old cancer sufferer, of East Road, Feltham, who was kept talking in his kitchen by Reid while her accomplice ransacked the home, taking cash, jewellery and watches on June 26.

Reid, of Billingshurst, West Sussex, was eventually caught after a local sergeant identified her from an e-fit picture circulated by police.

She was arrested on November 6 after officers found her hiding in a cupboard at a property in Slough.

Reid claimed she was 'normally drunk' when carrying out the burglaries and 'can't remember much detail'.

But she knew what she was doing was wrong, the court heard.

Reid is to be held in custody until she is sentenced at Kingston Crown Court at a later date.