Conman who faked illness to hide £41,000 fraud on pensioner is jailed

Alan Knight was caught walking around on CCTV and has been jailed for four-and-a-half years

Alan Knight has been jailed for four-and-a-half years (South Wales Police)

A fraudster who lied about being a paraplegic to cover up the fact he had fleeced an elderly dementia sufferer out of more than £40,000 has been jailed.

Alan Knight was caught on CCTV walking in and out of a Tesco supermarket and driving across the Severn Bridge, despite claiming to be so ill he would often fall into comas and needed a wheelchair.

His deception was unmasked at Swansea Crown Court where he was sentenced to four-and-a-half years on Friday after admitting 19 counts of forgery, fraud and theft.

The 47-year-old from Swansea, South Wales, faked a two-year illness as part of an elaborate plan to evade court and hide his false claims to have been caring for neighbour Ivor Richards.

In fact the father-of-three he was systematically taking money from the pensioner, now 91, and spending it on holidays and a caravan.

Police tried unsuccessfully to take him to court on two previous occasions, but each time he would admit himself to hospital and fake a coma-like state to avoid charges.

The charade continued right up until he was sentenced, with his wife pictured pushing him to court in a wheelchair while he wore a neck brace.

Benefit claimant Knight made up that he had fallen backwards when closing a garage door, snapping his neck. Judge Paul Thomas said Knight was “as dishonest a man as I’ve ever come across”, Wales Online reported.

Mr Richards is in a care home and has been reimbursed his losses – totalling £41,570 – by Lloyds Bank.