A CARE worker assaulted a 73-year-old man with Parkinson's six months before his death.

Alijicia Sadeghi-Taghiabad, of Littledale Road in Great Sankey, beat Callands Care Home resident Brian Chandler on two separate occasions when tending to his needs and showering him.

The attacks happened between March 8 and March 11 last year, before a whistleblower from the care home, on Callands Road, alerted Mr Chandler's family who called the police.

Thirty three-year-old Sadeghi-Taghiabad appeared at Warrington Magistrates' Court on Friday following a two-day trial, where she was found guilty of assault by beating.

In a statement read out by Mr Chandler's daughter, Jacqui Bickerton, the court heard how her father needed full-time care for his needs.

She said: "He had Parkinson's, mused dementia, a chronic lung condition and had had 25 strokes.

"I visited my father every day without fail. He became scared, unsettled, sad and nervous."

Mrs Bickerton explained how her father would look out of his bedroom door and ask for reassurance that the carer was not coming back.

She said Sadeghi-Taghiabad had taken away her father's dignity, leaving him visibly shaken and causing his health to deteriorate.

Mr Chandler died on August 10 last year, six months after the attack, and just 10 months after his wife May had died.

John Banasko, defending, said Sadeghi-Taghiabad, originally from Poland, was a 'good and able' worker and called the situation a 'pity'.

He said: "She had an excellent work record in the care industry.

"Sadly on this occasion she did not meet her own standards.

"It is a pity as her heart was in that profession and now she may never be able to help vulnerable others again."

Mr Banasko said Callands Care Home was understaffed, meaning she would have to 'rush around' to deal with duties.

He said: "This is no excuse for how she acted but could have been avoided."

The court heard how Sadeghi-Taghiabad had felt a 'sense of grievance' against management, having had her duties swapped with another carer.

Mr Banasko said: "She took the decisions initiated by management in good grace and got on with it.

"She liked Brian and never had a problem with him.

"She was upset and angry and it must have overspilled that morning when she dealt with him."

District Judge Holden said: "I do acknowledge that you were under some pressures at work and were relatively poorly paid.

"From what I heard, you generally worked well but it is absolutely clear that your behaviour fell down for that particular amount of time.

"Brian was a very vulnerable person and you were in a position of trust as his carer."

He handed Sadeghi-Taghiabad 150 hours of unpaid work and ordered her to pay £1035, including a victim surcharge.