A CONMAN swindled elderly, vulnerable and disabled people by pretending to raise money for a terminally ill sister.

Jonathan Sterry, 41, “targeted” his victims at a sheltered accommodation complex in the Pengam area of Blackwood by going door-to-door with a bogus sponsorship form.

He collected money after telling them he was taking part in a run to raise money for cancer research.

A 74-year-old man called the police to report Sterry and the officers who arrested him found nearby one of the fake sponsorship forms that he had torn up.

They also seized a £20 note and two £5 notes he had managed to get from his prey.

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Martha Smith-Higgins told Cardiff Crown Court: “The defendant told his victims he was collecting money for cancer as his sister was dying.

“He said he was doing collections for her as she had stomach cancer.

“The defendant deliberately targeted this area on the basis of the victims’ vulnerability.

“The offences are aggravated by his previous convictions.”

Sterry, of Hillcrest Close, Cefn Fforest, Blackwood has been jailed for similar offences, Ms Smith-Higgins added.

He pleaded guilty to seven counts of fraud and one of attempted fraud.

Julia Cox representing Sterry said her client had been sectioned in the past.

His barrister told the court: “There was a lack of sophistication in this case.”

Miss Cox asked for the defendant’s guilty pleas to be taken into account.

The Recorder of Cardiff Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke told Sterry: “You attempted to dispose of evidence by tearing up and throwing away a fake sponsorship form.

“I also consider it as a significantly aggravating factor that you were using a charitable cause as an excuse.”

The judge added: “People give to charity because they want to help those who are genuinely in need.

“You see people's good nature and charitable instincts as a way to make some money for yourself.

“The fact that this was not a sophisticated fraud and that the sums involved were very small is, in my opinion, less significant than by the way that you have used charity and people's good nature to obtain money for yourself.”

Sterry was jailed for two years.