A travelling scam artist charged a vulnerable pensioner £1,200 for labouring work – after he spent just 45 minutes cleaning out her gutters.

William Johnstone, 44, of Accrington, was jailed for demanding a ‘ridiculous’ sum from his victim, who was 82 years old, deaf and partially blind.

His accomplice Archibald Burke, 30, was also caught taking part in the ‘cold-blooded’ swindle as they went door-to-door last summer.

Both men, who are from the travelling community, were offering manual labour despite each claiming sickness benefits, the judge was told.

Their brazen scam took place in Chadderton, Oldham, on July 13, last year. When they arrived at the elderly woman’s home they offered to clean her gutters for £20, which she accepted.

But when Johnstone returned from the roof after 45 minutes, he told her they had also fixed some loose tiles – and that she now owed £1,200.

The pensioner gave the men £500 in cash from her bedroom, and said they would have to come back for the rest.

Later that day, the victim’s carer visited and realised what had happened, and called the police who waited for the tricksters to return.

When Burke arrived at her home the next day to collect the remaining £700, he was arrested along with Johnstone, who was nearby.

The judge was told that the pensioner had learning difficulties, wore hearing aids in both ears, and was partially blind.

Johnstone, of Royds Street, Accrington, and Burke, of Mowbray Livingston, West Lothian, in Scotland, both pleaded guilty to fraud when they appeared before a judge at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court.

Johnstone was jailed for 14 months. The judge was told how Johnstone had previous convictions for driving offences and theft.

In 2002 he was jailed after he posed as a council worker and stole from an elderly man’s home in Burnley.

Last July, he was also convicted for stealing a pensioner’s wallet.

Burke, who has a previous conviction for driving whilst disqualified, was handed a six-month sentence for the fraud, suspended for 18 months.

Both defendants were members of the travelling community, the court was told, who travelled out of their local area looking for work.

The men did not target their victim specifically, but took advantage of her once they realised she was old and vulnerable, it was said.

Burke was not told about the scam until after they left their victim’s house, but agreed to collect the £700 the following day.

After their arrest, both men denied any wrongdoing.

Johnstone first said he had cleaned the gutters, which took 45 minutes, but they had only charged the pensioner £150.

The defendants later admitted taking £500 and Burke was caught trying to collect £700 more.

Sentencing, Judge Timothy Mort said: “You persuaded her in her own home to let you do the work. She was then ensnared in the trap.

“It was fairly cold-blooded that once the work was done, you then held her to ransom.

“It wasn’t just taking £500, but cold-bloodedly going back the next day for more.”