Prison for two guilty of con on pensioner

TWO conmen have been sent to jail after trying to trick a vulnerable Oldham pensioner out of her savings.

Trusting Ann Lundy (82) was happy to take up their offer to clear the gutters of her home for £20.

But once William Johnstone and Archie Burke realised they were on to a good thing, they drastically increased the price.

Mrs Lundy, who lives alone in Chadderton and is partially sighted and deaf, was told they had found problems with her roof tiles which they had fixed, and she now owed them £1,200. The pair were paid £500 and said they would return the following day to collect the rest.

But after Mrs Lundy’s carer heard what had happened, police were told and arrested the men.

Sentencing them at Manchester Crown Court, Judge Timothy Mort told them: “You set up this ridiculous asking price for work which may or may not have been done then callously returned the following day to collect the balance.”

Johnstone (44), of Royds Street, Accrington, who had a previous conviction for a similar trick, was jailed for 14 months. Burke (30), from West Lothian, Scotland, was given six months suspended for 18 months.