Mexborough bogus builder helps con 89-year-old woman

A CONMAN from the Dearne Valley who duped an 89-year-old woman out of £2,000 has been jailed alongside his two partners in crime.

Billy Jay Hilton (32), of Whitelea Road, Mexborough, was one of three men who cleared an elderly woman’s gutter but charged her £2,000 for the work.

They then drove her to the NatWest bank in Wickersley intending to get even more money.

But their thieving plans were scuppered when bank staff called the police.

Hilton, along with Tommy Maughan (32), of Eastern Avenue, Sheffield, and Paul Birch (43), of Burgoyne Road, Sheffield, were all jailed for fraud.

The court that after clearing her gutter, the three men charged the woman £2,000 and attempted to extort a further £1,500 by driving her to the bank.

But a sharp-eyed member of the counter staff recognised the victim from her earlier visit and took her to one side before alerting the police.

Det Con Doug McGraghan said: “The quick-thinking members of staff at the branch prevented the offenders from getting more money and presented officers with an opportunity to apprehend the men as they attempted to leave the area.”

Hilton was jailed for eight months, Maughan for eight months, and Birch for nine months when they appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday (20).

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