A PENSIONER has spoken of her isolation a year after her car was stolen by a burglar who laid in wait for her inside her home.

Lee Hutchinson, 19, of Betoyne Avenue in Chingford, was sentenced to 12 months in prison at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Wednesday, July 25, for stealing Marjorie Stratford's car and jewellery after sneaking inside her house in Henry's Avenue, Woodford Green, on the edge of Highams Park, last May.

More than a year later the widow said she is only just recovering from the event, but said she has lost her independence after Hutchinson wrote off her vehicle in a crash.

"It's upset me a great deal, I feel I'm only getting over it now," Mrs Stratford said. "I do feel numb. What upset me most was stealing the car. I'm so isolated now because I can't walk well and I used the car to get everywhere."

It means Mrs Stratford must rely on her neighbours to drive her to St Anne's Church in Larkshall Road, Chingford, and to visit friends in nearby Highams Park.

"They're very kind about it but I don't want to bother them all the time so I end up staying at home a lot, it's very frustrating," she added.

The victim then returned home in the early evening of May 9 last year and parked her car in the drive, unaware the burglar was in her home after breaking in through the back door.

She later noticed her keys had gone missing and spotted that her car and jewellery had been taken.

Hutchinson made off with two pairs of pearl earrings and two rings worth £2,000 each.

"The sentimental value was much higher," said the retired solicitor's assistant. "One was my mother's engagement ring and the other was given to me by my husband. It was a reminder of him so it's a great loss to me.

"It's a nasty feeling that's stayed with me, that he was lying in wait while I was only in the next room. I'm finally getting over this but I don't know how long I'll feel that for."

Hutchinson was caught by police after being found in the car after a collision in The Close, Chingford, and forensic evidence placed him at the scene of the burglary.

Click here to follow the Chingford Guardian on Twitter

Click here to follow the Waltham Forest Guardian on Twitter