A disgraced care home boss who stole almost £10,000 from vulnerable pensioners has been struck off.

Allyson Elaine Smith has been axed from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register after she stole from residents at Ashton Grange Care Home in Pallion, Sunderland.

The 39-year-old’s pilfering included taking more than £915 from one ailing woman shortly before she died, whittling her savings down to just £1.38.

Smith, from Sunderland, claimed she stole to fund her abusive ex-boyfriend’s gambling habit.

The qualified nurse was given a 12-month suspended sentence at Newcastle Crown Court in February last year after she admitted theft of just under £10,000.

However, the NMC panel in London heard that the owners of the 40-bed St Luke’s Road home, Southern Cross Healthcare, claimed more than £16,000 was missing. Read more