Two men jailed for trying to con pensioner out of £2,000

John Barnard McDonagh and Michael Francis Joyce, both from South Shields, were given prison sentences of five months each when they appeared before magistrates earlier this week.

At lunchtime on April 4 they called at a house in The Crescent, Chester-le-Street, and persuaded their victim, aged 70, to let them carry out some gardening work for £100.

After doing some work in the garden they then told the victim he must have misheard as the actual amount owed was £2,100. They drove him to the nearest post office and he withdrew £250, the maximum amount he was able to using his bank card.

They then drove off, leaving their victim stranded in town.

However, McDonagh and Joyce were quickly traced through the van they had been using and the same night they were arrested on behalf of Durham Police by Northumbria Police.

They were then brought back to the Durham area and charged with an offence under the Fraud Act.

Joyce has previous convictions for similar offences, most recently in 2014 in the Gateshead area.