A DOUBLE glazing salesman who conned cash out of a “vulnerable, trusting and caring” pensioner - who became so distressed she contemplated suicide - has been jailed for two years, three months.

The Recorder of Middlesbrough, Judge Simon Bourne-Arton branded Nabeel Adris an “accomplished fraudster” who had told a “wicked lie” that his mother was dying of cancer simply to extract even more cash.

The 29-year-old had legitimately sold new windows and doors to the victim, who lives in Redcar, years before after cold-calling her.

He later persuaded the woman to ‘invest’ £6,000 cash in a get-rich quick scheme which he claimed could return £100,000, said Anthony Dunne, prosecuting.

Adris, he said, made a point of phoning ahead before arranging meetings with the woman which was a deliberate tactic to isolate her from other sources of advice.

Having persuaded the 69-year-old to hand over £6,000 cash in February 2012, Adris asked her to loan him a thousand pounds, saying his mother had cancer.

Mr Dunne said: “The defendant claimed that treatment was available for his mother’s condition in Italy, where he had relatives.

“She [the complainant] knew that although she could not really afford the money, but she felt sorry enough for him that she borrowed the money and passed it to him.”

Teesside Crown Court heard how Adris came up with “excuse after excuse” when the woman asked him where the money had gone.

Such was the impact on the victim, that she had talked about suicide and stopped going out or eating or sleeping properly.

Mr Dunne said it was a particularly cruel, prolonged fraud.

Eventually, the police were alerted last April after the daughter of a friend of the victim raised concerns.

Adris, of Roman Road, Middlesbrough, who admitted two counts of fraud, said he given the £6,000 to a man called ‘Joe’ who had disappeared.

He also denied he had ever told the pensioner a story about his cancer-stricken mother.

Graham Silvester, mitigating, said Adris was “robbing Peter to pay Paul”, after getting into financial difficulties.

Judge Bourne-Arton said he had no doubt Adris targeted the woman because she was vulnerable.

He said: “You just told her a tale and she fell for it.”