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Donovan Morley-Clough, 22, fleeced dementia sufferers and other elderly people out of tens of thousands of pounds by lying that he was a Christian who worked with the Age UK charity. The
building college drop-out targeted confused men and women aged in their 70s and 80s, cold-calling at their homes and convincing them they needed house repairs. His victims included two
dementia sufferers who have died since being conned by the crook. Prosecutor Georgina Coade told how the conman’s favourite ruse was to trick his way into victims’ homes by claiming he had
seen a bird fly into the roof. He would then offer to retrieve it and get into their lofts before inventing a catalogue of false problems. This included urinating in lofts to present the
homeowner with wet insulation, dipping roofing material in water tanks and presenting it as evidence of leaks or damp, and removing slates so water could drip through ceilings. He also
smuggled dead birds into houses and claimed they had been nesting in the roofs and even built a nest out of a hay bale and placed it on a roof top himself. Victims were quoted “obscene”
prices and he reduced perfectly good roofs to ones needing thousands of pounds of repairs. In one case he drove an 84-year-old woman to her bank so she could withdraw £2,000. Trading
standards officers say he took at least £15,000 from his victims but paperwork shows claims totalling £44,000 had been made. Ms Coade said: “He is a conman who based his entire business on
deceiving vulnerable people. “He would grossly over charge for any work he did do and any work done was of terrible standard.” Morley-Clough, of Riccall, North Yorks., admitted 14 counts of
engaging in a commercial practice in an unprofessional manner, two of participating in a fraudulent business and two of fraud by false representation - all relating to bogus roofing work
committed over 14 months in the York, Wetherby and Selby areas between December 2011 and February this year. Andrew Semple, mitigating, said his client suffered from attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder and had written a letter to the court claiming he regarded himself as a “victim”. But passing sentence, The Recorder of York Judge Stephen Ashurst, said: “The elderly
brood on these incidents. They feel a fool and can’t understand why they were taken in. “In this case it is easy to see why. You had the gift of the gab, saying you were a Christian doing
them a good turn. “You are a complete hypocrite. “Decent members of the community treat the elderly and vulnerable with respect and understanding, but by your conduct you have shown in this
case you saw such people as easy targets for fraud.” Clough was also given an ASBO banning him from trading or advertising as a roofer for ten years.