A ‘DESPICABLE’ career criminal who conned his way into an elderly pensioner’s Great Harwood home has been jailed for nine years.

Serial conman Michael William Alcorn tricked 82-year-old Ivan Williamson, who has dementia, into handing over his wallet after offering to carry out guttering repairs.

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The 49-year-old, of Barnes Street, Clayton-le-Moors, was sentenced to eight years for burglary and one year for breaching the terms of an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO), a sentence which will run consecutively.

The terms of the ASBO ban him from approaching homes with the intention of offering his services without an invitation, to enter into business contracts with people over the age of 65, or to carry out roofing work.

It had been imposed because of his record of targeting elderly vulnerable people.

Alcorn tampered with guttering at Mr Williamson’s house, before offering to fix it for him on May 9, Detective Inspector Vinny De Curtis said.

After following his victim inside the house, he emptied his wallet of £55.

He then fled the house after being disturbed by the pensioner’s carer Sandra Dixon, Det Insp De Curtis said.

Alcorn was arrested after officers identified him on a neighbour’s CCTV system running away.

Mr Williamson’s son, Keith, was at Burnley Crown Court to hear Alcorn found guilty after a four-day trial this week.

The transport manager at Rigby’s in Accrington said: “There’s a gutter on the shed at the back and it’s on four clips. It’s impossible for them to unclip themselves, but two had been unclipped so it was hanging down.

“Alcorn showed my dad and said he could fix it, and then when he got his wallet out, he just emptied it.

“The difference we have noticed in my dad is if he hears a noise, he spins around quickly. He’s very twitchy and nervous.

“I think the sentence is good, and I hope it will deter others, and protect the elderly.”

Alcorn, previously described by police as a ‘career criminal who only stops when he’s in prison’, was jailed for three years in 2010 after fleecing a Nelson man out of £3,000 over a three-month period.

Alcorn carried out minor repairs on the then 76-year-old’s roof but, despite being paid the agreed £300 for the job, he repeatedly called at the pensioner’s home demanding more money, and even drove him to a cashpoint in a taxi so he could withdraw the cash.

Speaking at the time, Detective Constable Sajid Mahmood, of Accrington CID, branded Alcorn a ‘nasty’ operator and said: “He is well known for targeting elderly and vulnerable people with similar scams.”

Alcorn was also jailed for three years and nine months in 2000 for an almost identical crime on an 83-year-old former headteacher in Burnley in which he obtained £9,000.

Det Insp De Curtis said: “Nine years is a significant sentence because Alcorn was known to the police. This type of offence against vulnerable, elderly people worries the public.

“We are really happy with the level of sentence, and it will send out a message to others thinking about committing this sort of offence.

“Alcorn has little or no respect for his victims, who he targets in his criminality.”

Mr Williamson, who goes into day care twice a week and requires daily care, has lived on his own since his wife Kathleen died in 1988.

His son Keith said the former charge nurse was determined to remain at home despite the burglary.

“There’s no way he would voluntarily go anywhere. He’s quite a stubborn guy and his intentions are only to go out of his house in a box,” he said.

Hyndburn MP Graham Jones also praised the length of the sentence handed to Alcorn, who he described as a ‘despicable character’.

He said: “For once, the judge has made the right decision, and he has put the protection of the public above the pleas of the criminal.

“The public will appreciate the sentence that Mr Alcorn has received, and if judges continue to take a hard line against these villains, then I think the public will begin to regain some confidence in the judicial system.

“Crimes like this literally leave their victims in fear, probably for the rest of their life.”