A 'considerable abuse of trust' saw a 73-year-old Matson woman steal £3,400 from an elderly friend.
Carol Stroud, of Prinknash Road, admitted defrauding Barbara Baldwin of the cash over more than four years.
She had been trusted to help look after Mrs Baldwin's finances, Gloucester Crown Court heard.
Judge Jamie Tabor QC told Stroud: "It is very sad to see someone of your age in a criminal court.
"But the fact is that you committed a serious criminal offence and took a lot of money which didn't belong to you."
Stroud pleaded guilty to stealing £3,400 from Mrs Baldwin between August 11, 2009 and November 5, 2013.
She also admitted fraud against Mrs Baldwin by adapting a passbook in the same time period.
Sarah Jenkins, defending, said Stroud has never been in any criminal trouble before.
"The complainant is quite elderly - so is the defendant," she said.
"They met each other relatively late in life and formed a friendship.
"Mrs Baldwin appears to have been struggling with matters financial and effectively used Mrs Stroud to help her with her day to day affairs."
Judge Tabor added: "There was a considerable abuse of trust."
"Yes, abuse of friendship," agreed Mrs Jenkins.
"The offences occurred when she was in quite considerable difficulty after being widowed and trying to deal with her own debts and other financial problems.
"This is something which is very much out of character."
Judge Tabor said he wanted to know more about Stroud before sentencing her. He bailed her until March 9 for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.
