A woman accused of beating a pensioner to death with a rolling pin has admitted stealing thousands of pounds from her bank account to fund her "fearsome" heroin habit.

Sandra Weir, 41, told jurors on Tuesday she "abused" 82-year-old Mary Logie's trust when she took around £4000 from her between late 2014 and early 2016.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard Weir told Mrs Logie in January last year about how she had illegally obtained approximately £1150 from her funds in late 2014.

She told defence advocate Murray Macara QC she had confessed to Mrs Logie.

Weir said: "I sat down and told her what I had done and said she had every right to involve the police because what I did was illegal."

The court heard Mrs Logie declined to press charges and gave Weir the opportunity to pay the sum back.

In late 2015, Weir said she told Mrs Logie she had financial worries caused by her abusing heroin and losing her job at a solicitor's office.

Weir said her neighbour in Leven, Fife, offered to help her but she continued to take large amounts of money from Mrs Logie's bank account.

Referring to Mrs Logie as Rae, Weir told the court: "I had told Rae about the trouble I was in and she offered to help me.

"She offered to help by giving a tenner here and a tenner there. I abused that."

Weir, of Leven, was giving evidence on the seventh day of proceedings against her.

She denies murdering her neighbour at her home in Green Gates on January 5 this year.

Since moving to the street in 2010, Weir said she got to know Mrs Logie and occasionally went shopping for her. She also took her pet cat to the vets.

Weir told the court Mrs Logie allowed her to have her debit card to pay for household items on the pensioner's behalf.

The court heard she used the card to obtain money to pay for drugs.

Mr Macara asked his client: "Why did you use the card?"

Weir replied: "I needed money to pay for my habit."

She also told the court on the evening Mrs Logie was murdered, she was at her home.

At approximately 8pm, Weir said she decided to pay a visit to her neighbour and used a key she had to enter Mrs Logie's home.

The court heard she shouted on Mrs Logie but got no response.

She said: "Rae was lying on the floor. There was a lot of blood. I could hear her breathing. It was gurgly."

Weir told the court she stamped on the floor to get the attention of her downstairs neighbour and shouted for her husband to come and help.

When Mr Macara asked Weir if she "attacked" Mrs Logie, she replied: "No."

The court heard paramedics were called and police eventually arrived at the scene as well.

She told the court she spent the next 14 hours at a nearby police station giving a witness statement to officers.

Weir agreed with prosecution lawyer Alex Prentice QC that she had a "fearsome" heroin habit but denied murdering Mrs Logie.

At the conclusion of the Crown case, Mr Prentice told the court he wanted to withdraw some of the charges facing Weir.

Weir no longer faces a charge which alleges she possessed heroin at various locations in Leven between April 1, 2010, and January 17, 2016.

Prosecutors have also dropped a charge which alleged she used Mrs Logie's debit card to pay for goods worth £313.43 at a supermarket in Leven on various occasions between 2014 and 2015.

They have also dropped a fraud charge which alleged Weir collected for Guide Dogs for the Blind without authorisation and failed to give the proceeds to the charity.

Charges which allege she attempted to pervert and defeat the ends of justice following the alleged murder have also been dropped.

She now faces charges which allege she stole quantities of money, two rings and a bank card belonging to Mrs Logie from her home.

Weir is also accused of killing Mrs Logie by repeatedly striking her on the head and body with a rolling pin or similar instrument at Mrs Logie's house on January 5 this year.

She has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Her lawyers have lodged a special defence of alibi in relation to the murder charge.