Lotto trickster rumbled by suspicious store boss

A CONMAN tried to dupe trusting corner shopkeepers by posing as an agent for the National Lottery.

Daniel Swindells looked the part, immaculately turned out in a smart business suit and carrying a clipboard, and even had documentation with the logo of Lotto owners, Camelot.

But Manchester Crown Court heard the 24 year old, from Merseyside, was outwitted by a quick-thinking store boss.

The owner of the Premier Express shop in Lees rumbled him after listening to his sales pitch, in which he offered to set up a lottery machine for a £1,000 fee.

He called Camelot and was told they had no employee of the name Swindells was using.

The shokeeper feigned interest in doing a deal and asked him to caome back next day - when police were waiting.

The court heard Swindells had previously tried the same ruse at two off-licences in Tameside. The owners there had been suspicious and declined the offer.

Sentencing him to six months in prison suspended for two years, Judge Bernard Lever said: “You had taken the trouble of preparing documents you hoped would back up your story. You couldn’t have been very good, however, as you got no money from any of these shopkeepers.”