A MARRIED couple have been charged at Worcester Crown Court with defrauding an elderly woman they befriended of £10,000.

Mr Peter Cooke, prosecuting, said the woman, who was in her 70s and suffering from Parkinsons Disease, had since died.

He said that the couple, who no longer lived together, had been interviewed by police after complaints by the dead woman's relatives.

Accused are Lisa Dean, 24, of Hawfinch Rise, Spennells, Kidderminster, and Simon Dean, 36, of Windermere House, Hurcott Road, Kidderminster.

No pleas were taken at the preliminary hearing, adjourned until November 7. The accused were given bail.

Mrs Dean, said to be a carer employed by an agency, was ordered by Judge Andrew Geddes not to work with old people while the case was ongoing.