A CARE worker whose neglect resulted in the death of a severely disabled woman has been been jailed after being found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter.

Tracey Burrows, of Sherdley Park Avenue, St Helens was employed to care for Julie Cleworth, a 43-year-old woman from St Helens.

Julie had severe mobility issues, requiring her to need healthcare visitors several times a day.

On February 9, 2017, Julie was found dead at home.

Burrows, 56, had lied about visiting Julie at her home address after her release from hospital only a few days before, ultimately contributing to Julie's death.

She was therefore charged with gross negligence manslaughter.

Today, Tuesday, Burrows sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court to three years in prison.

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Detective Inspector Craig Turner said: “Tracey was in a position of care and has abused this trust, ultimately resulting in the sad passing of Ms Cleworth.

“Although this is a really awful series of events, I hope this sentencing brings some closure to Ms Cleworth’s family and allows them to move on with their own lives.

“We, as a force, are dedicated to protecting all those living, working and visiting Merseyside, especially those who are vulnerable.

"We are dedicated and work efficiently with our partners to fully investigate reports of neglect and put those responsible before the courts.”

In July, Liverpool Crown Court heard how Julie Cleworth was found dead at her Rainhill home four days after her carer Tracy Burrows told her bosses that Julie was not in.

Consequently her care visits were cancelled.

She was unable to move without assistance and apparently starved to death having been left without food, water and medication.

It had been mistakenly believed that the 43-year-old stroke victim, who also had other health issues, had been returned to hospital after a three day stay because her electric bed was broken.

But an ambulance man had fixed it and the crew put her in bed to await Burrows’ visit.

At 7pm that evening, February 5, 2017, apparently finding the house in darkness Burrows did not even bother to get out of her car to check if she was in - but lied to her employers, Unite Healthcare, saying she had checked in every room.

Morbidly obese Julie was described by the prosecution as "helpless as a baby” and if something was not within reach of her fingers, “it may as well have been 1,000 miles away".

But in her desperation she had managed to take off her top and was found dead on February 9, half in the bed having struggled to get out of it.

A post mortem discovered that the victim had developed ketoacidosis, a condition in which toxins build up in the blood stream as a result of starvation.

Burrows, 56, of Sherdley Park Drive, claimed during her nine-day trial that she had checked in the living room of Julie’s small bungalow home in Berwyn Grove, Rainhill, as that was where Julie spent all her time and slept on the couch.

But a jury unanimously convicted her of gross neglect manslaughter after three and a half hours deliberations and a judge warned her she faces “a very real likelihood of a prison sentence".