Victim Marjorie Greenwood said she would normally turn away anyone who came to the door uninvited, but she was “a bit woolly” from the anaesthetic after her hip replacement operation and the conmen had “played me like a fish”.

MIss Greenwood said: “I have lived in the house for 45 years, but I am not a builder and was totally ignorant about what needed doing.

“They conned me out of a large sum of money and I fell for it. But I came to my senses in time to stop the last cheque.

“It’s a lot of money to lose. I made a fool of myself and I resent being fooled.

“I want to warn other vulnerable people, particularly the elderly, to be on their guard.

“These two conned me and I can’t forgive them for that. They are going to jail, but what will really hurt them is if they lose the money that they acquired from me. I don’t want to be vindictive but they deserve to be hurt in some way or other. They need something that will make them think about where they are going in their lives.

“They have got their lives before them and they could do some good in this world. Let’s hope they do.”

Detective Constable Jim Singleton, of Bradford CID, said two determined fraudsters had been brought to justice.

“They are now in prison, where they deserve to be, and I hope it will bring some comfort to the victim.”

Det Con Singleton added: “This type of offending, on vulnerable victims such as this, is particularly distasteful and something the police take very seriously.

“Anyone who believes they may have been victims of such crimes should not be afraid to come forward and report it to us. We will investigate rigorously.”