Trowbridge man faked medical emergencies to get victims to hand over cash

Andrew Alexander has been jailed for more than four years.

A Trowbridge man who lied about being in emergency situations to get his victims to hand over money has been jailed.

Andrew Alexander, 45, of Park Road, told lies about himself to his victims - including that he was a victim of domestic abuse - to persuade them to give him their money.

He also burgled one of his victims who let him into their home after he knocked on their door and asked for their help.

Alexander pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary and three counts of fraud last week and has been jailed for four and a half years.

The crimes took place during one week in November.

On one occasion he claimed to be a victim of domestic violence in order to convince a victim to hand over money. He entered their home and pressured them into transferring him £30.

On another occasion, he knocked on a woman’s door in Corsham, claiming his wife was in labour and he needed to borrow money to pay for a taxi fare to the hospital. The victim handed over £40 cash and Alexander said he would return the money the next day.

He then asked for a glass of water, followed the victim to the kitchen, and left, taking the victim’s purse which contained around £200.

Sergeant Rich Marshall described the 45-year-old as a "prolific offender" who took advantage of his victims' goodwill.

“He would turn up at people’s houses, often in the evening, and put pressure on them to hand over money with completely fabricated stories about illness or emergency situations," he said.

"He took advantage of kind-hearted members of our community who believed they were genuinely helping someone in need.

“His behaviour was disgraceful – people should feel safe and secure within their own homes. By doing what he did, Alexander made members of our community feel frightened in the place they should feel most safe.

“We have worked hard to tie these offences together and identify Alexander as the sole offender and I am pleased he has been given a custodial sentence as a result of his deceiving actions.”