A con man who attempted to defraud a vulnerable Halesowen pensioner out of nearly £500 has been jailed for a year.

Terry Collins called at the Carters Lane home of Brian Jordan, who’d just had a blood transfusion after a triple by-pass operation, and told him he had a bill for £480 for the VAT on the recent work carried out on his roof.

The pensioner refused to pay and Collins left, but he was recognized on CCTV footage by police officers who quickly arrested him. 22 year-old Collins, a father of three, admitted fraud at Wolverhampton Crown Court.