A ROGUE roofer who fleeced a vulnerable widower out of £5,200 has been jailed for two years and one month.

The 73-year-old man, who has mobility issues following a stroke, was tricked out of a large proportion of his savings by Conrad Williams and his accomplice, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

Williams, 29, of Roughhaw Road, Skipton, targeted the elderly man at his home in Halifax on May 9, prosecutor Frances Pencheon said.

He pleaded guilty last month to committing fraud by dishonestly making a false representation that he was carrying out work on the man’s roof intending to make £5,200 gain for himself.

The court heard that Williams’ ‘appalling’ criminal record of 35 convictions for 69 offences included 14 frauds.

Miss Pencheon said that on May 6, two other men had approached the pensioner’s home and told him he needed his roof fixing. They took him to Lloyds Bank where he withdrew £500 but they said that wasn’t enough. He took out a further £3,200 and handed it over, never to see them again.

Three days later, Williams and his accomplice asked for more money for the roof.

They took the pensioner to the bank and he withdrew £5,200. But an employee was suspicious and followed the pair outside and took photographs of their van.

The fraudsters did not return to do any work at the house, the court heard.

The man’s daughter saw the cash withdrawals from his bank account and the police were alerted.

On June 6, Williams returned to the address saying he had done work in the garden be-fore and was going to do more. On this occasion, the man didn’t open the door and Williams left empty-handed.

In his victim impact statement, the widower said he had been tricked out of a large proportion of his savings and now had financial worries for the future. He was scared to answer the door and afraid the men would return.

Williams made no comment when the police questioned him.

The court heard that he was jailed for six months in February for burglary and was on licence when he committed the fraud.

Abigail Langford said in mitigation that he was using drugs and had run up a debt.

He had completed courses while on remand in HMP Leeds since August and regretted his involvement in the offending.

Recorder Paul Reid said Williams had an ‘appalling’ record, including for offences of fraud.

He had targeted an elderly gentleman who had suffered a stroke after a fall that affected his mobility and thinking skills.

Recorder Reid stressed that he wasn’t sentencing Williams for having any involvement in the earlier fraud but the fact that the pensioner had been fleeced three days’ earlier added to his vulnerability.

He was taken to the bank and withdrew £5,200 but an employee at Lloyds was suspicious and took photos of the van the crooks were using.

Williams then had the effrontery to return to his address the following month.

Recorder Reid jailed Williams for 25 months and made a five-year restraining order banning him from going to his victim’s address.

He asked the Crown Prosecution Service to write to the bank employee to express the court’s gratitude for her prompt action in following the criminals from the bank and taking the photos that had led to Williams’ apprehension.