A devastated pensioner said she “must be a soft touch” after a thief twice conned his way into her home before making off with her Christmas savings.
The 87-year-old bravely spoke to The Courier after George Reilly was jailed for almost a year and a half.
Reilly, 37, targeted the vulnerable Broughty Ferry woman twice, in November and December, making off with £345 in total.
The pensioner even gave him some of her late husband’s clothes as she felt sorry for him but he returned her kindness by robbing her.
She said: “I only left him for a minute to get a bag for the shirts and he stole what I was going to give my family for Christmas. He really cleaned me out. I never got any of my money back and I don’t suppose I’m likely to get it back.
“He came to the door and he was soaking, that’s why I let him in. He was asking for a coffee and some warm shirts.
“I must just be a soft touch and I know now he was taking advantage of me.”
Reilly, of Elders Court, Dundee, was jailed for 17 months for the thefts, as well as stealing £220 from two other victims.
While the pensioner went to get two of her late husband’s shirts for Reilly, he swooped on her savings in the living room.
She said: “I suppose I had to leave him for a minute to get a bag. I know I was silly. I was keeping the money to give to people for Christmas.
“A lot of my younger family are too old for toys and I wanted them to be able to pick something themselves.
“That’s what put the head on it. He stole what I was going to give my family for Christmas. I still want to give them something but I can’t now until the bank opens.”
Dundee Sheriff Court heard another of Reilly’s victims was the 88-year-old mother of one of his friends and he took advantage by stealing her purse containing £200 while she was giving him a lift.
Defence solicitor Theo Findlay said Reilly suffered from problems with drug addiction.
Sentencing Reilly at on Saturday, Sheriff Elizabeth Munro said his crime was “reprehensible”.
She said: “This is just appalling.”
The 87-year-old victim said afterwards she first met Reilly as a homeless man who her late husband used to talk to in the street.
She said: “I never gave him money but my husband did. I don’t know how he knew where I lived but he would have known that my husband died a year ago and that I was on my own.
“I’m quite happy he’s in jail as I’ll be able to relax now. I’m pleased to know he’s inside.”
Since the thefts she has improved security in her home and said she won’t let him in again.
She said: “I’ll not forget him for that and he’ll never get over that door of mine again.”