An 85-year-old woman sat in court to see her trusted carer jailed for stealing £10,600 of her savings.
Estelle Randall systematically raided unsuspecting Peggy Garratt's bank account to buy drugs.
After seeing Randall sentenced to 16 months' imprisonment, the feisty pensioner gave the thumbs-up sign to the judge.
Peggy said afterwards: "She's got what she deserved. I felt badly let down at the time because I'd considered her a friend, but for three years she was stealing behind my back.
"I lost confidence and felt scared and then angry.
"I feel cheated that the money I'd worked so hard for has been callously taken.
"I wouldn't have employed her if I'd known she had previous convictions and cautions for shoplifting, which I've only just found out about.
"It was a rotten thing to do and my faith in human nature was shattered for a while.
"I did get quite down about it but now I'm a lot stronger.
"She was smirking when she came into court – I don't think she's even bothered."
Peggy, who has two sons, lives in sheltered accommodation in Beaumont Leys, Leicester, and suffers from osteoarthritis.
After Friday's hearing at Leicester Crown Court, she said: "I think justice has been done and that's what I came to see."
Randall (34), of Battersbee Way, New Parks, Leicester, admitted theft of £10,600 in 123 dishonest cash machine transactions between 2008 and 2011.
Judge Simon Hammond said: "Mrs Garratt saved all her life so she wouldn't have to worry about money in old age. This was a gross abuse of trust.
"It was persistent, remorseless and pitiless."
The pensioner's bank, the Halifax, is refusing to reimburse her because she entrusted Randall with her PIN number.
Mrs Garratt, a former nursing assistant, said: "I gave her the PIN because it's hard for me to get out, especially in winter."
Alan Murphy, prosecuting, said Mrs Garratt, who has mobility problems and uses a walking stick, privately employed Randall for four hours' help a week – two hours on Mondays and Thursdays, at £10 an hour – to assist with shopping and other tasks.
She thought Randall was trustworthy, in the knowledge she also worked for a care company and assumed she had been through a vetting procedure.
Mrs Garratt gave Randall her cash card and PIN number, authorising her to withdraw between £100 to £150 to pay for the shopping.
Randall would bring receipts and the change.
Mr Murphy said: "In November 2011, Mrs Garratt checked her bank statement more thoroughly than usual and realised every time she gave the defendant her cash card, she was withdrawing extra sums, sometimes up to the £300 limit.
"When she told the Halifax she'd had money stolen, their response was they weren't liable.
"That's the position so far." Peggy started work as a machinist aged 15, was a shop worker and also looked after sick children as a nursing assistant at the former Groby Road Hospital, in Leicester.
She did voluntary work for Age Concern for many years and is a supporter of numerous charities.
Shital Modwhadia, mitigating for Randall, said: "She was a long-standing heroin and crack-cocaine addict, with a £40-a-day habit she couldn't keep up with.
"She wasn't living any kind of lavish lifestyle."
The court heard Randall has previously suffered from mental health problems and has been diagnosed with an "unstable personality disorder".
