A pastor has defended a member of his parish who was jailed for fraud by describing her as a “genuine, caring person”.

The Rev John McCabe, 56, who has been the rector of St Mary’s Church in Byfleet for nine years, had welcomed Weybridge woman Sheila Boon to services for the past year.

But last week Boon was jailed for 18 months following a three-week trial at Bournemouth Crown Court where a jury found her guilty of “securing her inheritance” by taking £105,000 from an elderly relative’s bank account.

Boon, formerly of Locke King Close, Weybridge, became a more frequent attendee of his church after the funeral of her father, which Dr McCabe officiated.

Dr McCabe spoke of the 55-year-old – found guilty of fraud by abuse of position – as a “much-loved grand-daughter”.

He said: “This is a very alarming case for the whole nation. As all over the country people are getting older and people are wondering how they are going to be cared for and this is an example of a person who is very loving and made some errors of judgement.

“I know when I’ve got a bad egg on my hands, and she isn’t one.

“She is a genuine, caring person who was in a loving and caring relationship with her grandmother and her father.”

He praised friends who stood by Boon during the investigation and trial, and said: “My sense here is that in her innocence Sheila is herself a vulnerable adult who has been entrapped by a crushing system and let down by a jury who got it wrong.”