Conman who tried to trick man, 97, out of £200 is locked up

Shameless Shaun McGarrick noticed a leak at the Stourbridge home where he had done odd jobs in the past and saw the chance to make money during the run up to Christmas, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

The victim, who was described as being ' fiercely independent,' had not asked him to fix the fault and the job should have taken no more than a few minutes to complete but the 34-year-old trickster decided to milk the opportunity, explained Mr Paul Spratt, prosecuting.

McGarrick stood in the rain on top of the man's waste bin for two hours in a bid to make it appear that the repair had been far more complicated to complete.

When he got down he asked the elderly man for £200 which the victim refused to pay. The conman had no more luck when he demanded £100 from the person's son who called the police.

An officer who arrived as the defendant was walking away from the property was hit on the side of the head while arresting the culprit.

The defendant continued to struggle after an incapacitant spray was deployed but was finally handcuffed and detained after the two men wrestled on the ground, the court was told.

McGarrick, who had previous convictions involving 60 separate offences of dishonesty that ranged from burglary through vehicle interference to theft, admitted he had been trying to scam the elderly victim. Mr Spratt concluded: "The defendant has been persistently dishonest."

Mr Stephen Hamblett, defending, conceded: "He was struggling financially during the run up to Christmas and put on a show for the complainant, making the job look more complex than it actually was."

The defendant from Vicars Walk, Pedmore admitted fraud by false representation and assaulting an emergency worker in the course of the victim's duty.

Judge Amjad Nawaz told the defendant: "This was a despicable offence since you knew the man, had done work for him before and took advantage of his vulnerability." He added: "Police officers do not deserve to be treated in the way you treated the officer who arrested you."