A PARANOID schizophrenic who stole thousands of pounds from an 89-year-old man and waged a hate campaign against the man's daughter will be treated at a mental health clinic.

Emma Louise Bendall-Roberts, 20, appeared at Dorchester Crown Court for sentencing on four charges of theft, one of forgery, one of using a false instrument with intent, one of putting a person in fear of violence and one of harassment.

Bendall-Roberts, of the Forston mental health clinic near Dorchester, made contact with Eric Parkinson after her mother Jenny started looking after him when his health began to deteriorate.

Philip Warren, prosecuting, said after Mr Parkinson died his daughter Heather Parfitt began noticing irregularities in his bank account.

Mr Warren told the court when Mrs Parfitt began going through her father's statements she noticed some missing from April of that year.

There had been a total of 18 withdrawals from his account totalling £3,650, Mr Warren told the court.

Then a text message saying: lost £3,000?' was sent by the defendant to Mrs Parfitt, the court was told.

It was the first message in a vitriolic campaign of hatred and abuse and threats and harassment' on Bendall-Roberts' part, Mr Warren told the court.

Other text messages, and later letters sent to Mrs Parfitt carried messages like: "I hope you die and go straight to hell after what you've done."

Another saying: "Don't worry - I'll only take £250," was sent by Bendall-Roberts to Mrs Parfitt, the court heard.

Other messages sent by Bendall-Roberts called Mrs Parfitt a fat slut' and promised to hurt her like you've hurt me'.

In a witness statement, Mrs Parfitt said the bombardment of messages had made her afraid of leaving the house and caused her difficulty sleeping.

Mr Warren also told the court Bendall-Roberts had sent a message to PC Natasha Smart, threatening to damage her career.

Denied The court heard Bendall-Roberts was arrested by police several times and confessed to some of the crimes, only to be released and commit similar offences again later.

In some police interviews she also denied crimes she had previously admitted to, the court heard.

Doctor David Morton, a specialist registrar of forensic psychiatry, said he and fellow mental health professionals agreed Bendall-Roberts suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.

Judge John Beashal told the court he was satisfied' that Bendall-Roberts suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.

He made an order under the 1983 Mental Health Act for Bendall-Roberts to continue receiving treatment at the Forston clinic, with a further order imposing no time limit' on the length of her stay.