A prolific offender who pretended to be in emergency situations in a bid to persuade people to hand over cash has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Fraudster Andrew Alexander carried out his crime spree in November 2022 - turning up at victim's homes and preying on their generosity

The 45 year-old of Park Road, Trowbridge, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of burglary and fraud and was sentenced last week.  

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: Andrew Alexander has been given 54 months of jail time.Andrew Alexander has been given 54 months of jail time. (Image: Wiltshire Police)

On November 8, Alexander 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 then left, taking the victim’s purse with him which contained approximately £200.

In a separate incident, Alexander visited another address, said he was a victim of domestic violence and then let himself into the property. His victim felt pressured to transfer £30 to him in order to get him to leave their address.

Sgt Rich Marshall said: “Alexander is a prolific offender who 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 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.”