A MAN hired an unqualified carer to look after his Alzheimers Disease stricken mother and left her unattended for up to 13 hours a day, a jury heard.

They were told Gary Atkins did not send his mum to see a doctor for nearly 11 months and instead left her vulnerable in bed as her condition deteriorated. She had no panic alarm and no way of calling for aid.

A nurse who visited Mrs Atkins nearly a year after she was last seen by a doctor described her as "skin and bone", admitting she had never seen anything like it.

The OAP, who was in her late 70s, had developed bed sores of the worse category, to the point where the the bone was visible, the nurse also revealed.

Jurors were told Atkins neglected his mother's care, and instead hired Debbie Byrne, who had no medical qualifications, to look after her.

When doctors discovered the extent of Mrs Atkins' condition Byrne and Atkins both found themselves at the centre of a police investigation.

Today they appeared at Reading Crown Court both charged with a single charge of neglecting a person without capacity, which they deny.

Prosecutor Anne Evans told the jury how Atkins converted his garage into a room for his elderly mother and did not take her to see a doctor between January and November 2014.

"Sadly for the last two years of her life she suffered with Alzheimers disease," she said "According to medical records held by her surgery the last time she had been seen by anyone was on January 17 2014.

"There was no fixed hours but an agreement was reached for Debbie to visit four times per day for one hour each visit, seven days per week."

Atkins told police how he hired Bryne to look after his mother, while Bryne told officers she had done her best to care for Mrs Atkins.

The prosecutor continued: "Gary agreed that she was not a registered carer. He had not conducted any type of risk assessment for his mother and when asked whose responsibility it was to provide training for her (Debbie) he simply said ' I don't know'.

"He agreed the last visit would be at 7pm and between then and 8am no care at all was provided for his mother even though she was next door to him.

"She didn't have a phone. She didn't have any type of device to alarm him if she needed help. He said he had thought of installing a panic alarm but he didn't because as he put it 'she would be pressing it all the time'."

The panel heard how Debbie eventually spotted some sores on Mrs Atkins' body and called for a nurse to visit her.

Carol Rutter, the district nurse who visited Mrs Atkins, said she could not believe the condition she was found in.

She told the jury: "The only thing Debbie discussed was the sores. She asked us to look at the area of the hip. It was the right hip.

"She was literally just skin and bone. You could pick the skin up off of her bone. I have never seen anything like it."

Atkins, aged 54 and of Bray Road, Reading and Bryne, aged 54 and of Circuit Lane, Reading, both deny a single charge of wilful neglect.

The trial, before Judge John Reddihough at Reading Crown Court, continues.