WE WONDER whether Phillip Shortman will ever grow up.

The 27-year-old, from Pontypool, has been a regular in the pages of the Argus for 10 years.

During that time Shortman has been a serial conman, making money from selling bogus goods online.

He has 17 convictions for 77 offences, stretching back to when he was just 16 years old.

Shortman’s offences are almost always the same; persuading people to part with their cash in return for bogus goods they never receive from the online auction site eBay.

Yet neither the passing of time nor a number of spells behind bars have been enough to keep him on the straight and narrow.

Instead, we have witnessed a series of convictions that prove nothing more than what a useless conman he is. After all, if Shortman was any good he would not keep getting caught.

As it is, Shortman, now a father of three, faces the courts again on Friday where he will be sentenced for his latest offence.

Shortman attempted to prove he was a changed man via a series of increasingly bizarre posts on the Argus Facebook page yesterday.

And his solicitor told the court Shortman was now both mature and remorseful regarding his crimes.

Really? It strikes us the best way Shortman can prove he is a changed man is to stop offending.