A carer who stole almost £900 from his vulnerable clients has been warned he could be jailed after he was sent to Swansea Crown Court to be sentenced.

Jason Lee Walters, 35, admitted stealing £870 from two vulnerable people he was a carer for between January and November last year.

Aberystwyth magistrates heard he was caught after a ledger that he was required to complete to show withdrawals of money for clients matched up with bank records failed to do so.

Helen Tench, prosecuting, said that as part of his duties, Walters, of 4 Brynheulwen, Blaenannerch, would be asked to withdraw money for clients.

Walters would fill in details in a ledger, and checks of the ledger showed the information did not match the bank records of the two clients.

Ms Tench said there were a number of transactions that showed Walters had taken out money and kept it, but said the total amount he stole was £700 from one client and £170 from the other.

Initially, Walters told police he had taken some money but was paying it back, but Ms Tench said other transactions were then discovered.

She said the case involved a serious breach of trust considering Walters’ role as a carer.

In a probation report, magistrates heard that Walters had been struggling with financial problems as he had not been paid from a previous job and took money to try and ease his “spiralling debt”.

Defence solicitor Kevin Williams said the case had left Walters a “broken man” and added: “His fall from grace is Victorian. Modern life didn’t treat him kindly.”

He said Walters had been under severe strain and stress with the case going on for seven months, and said it had left Walters battling suicidal thoughts.

Walters was keen to pay compensation to the two victims, with Mr Williams saying it would help “salve his conscience”.

Magistrates ruled that Walters should be sentenced in crown court because of the seriousness of the case.

Presiding magistrate Caroline Whitehead said: “This is a serious case, because there was a huge, very high level of trust in care working and it wasn’t a one off.

“There were different clients you abused and on a number of occasions.”

Walters was released on unconditional bail until a sentencing hearing at Swansea Crown Court.