A man who posed as a window cleaner in a bid to con two women out of money has appeared in court.
Lewis Saxton, aged 32, targeted the women at addresses in the Highbury Vale area of Nottingham, arriving uninvited and demanding money for work he had not carried out.
In both cases, in Laburnum Gardens and Gorse Court, he left empty-handed when he was challenged.
Following the offences on Saturday 11 December an investigation was launched and Saxton – who has previous convictions for doing the same thing – was identified as a suspect.
He later handed himself in at a police station while still carrying his window cleaner’s kit.
Appearing at Nottingham Magistrates Court on 28 December Saxton, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation and was handed a four-month jail sentence suspended for 12 months.
Detective Sergeant Simon Carter, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Saxton is not a window cleaner; he is an opportunist criminal who uses the cover of an honest trade in order to con people out of money.
“Sadly, there are many similar conmen and fraudsters out there who operate in a similar way so I would urge people to be on their guard against such people.
“No reputable tradesperson would ever turn up on your doorstep demanding money without prior agreement from you, so if you are approached in this way please phone the police immediately.
“Even if an offence has happened many weeks before, we still want to know about it so we can take appropriate action and ensure it never happens again.”
