A REMORSELESS conman was jailed for a year despite a jury having just found him not guilty of burgling a pensioner's home.

Brian Paisey had insisted he had not been involved in the raid on the house on Hardens Mead, Chippenham, where a 87-year-old's wallet was taken.

But he had already admitted his part in conning the old man out of £1,700 claiming to have carried out work to combat rodent infestation.

And he also accepted using his bank card to first make a contactless purchase for 83p to test it was valid and then trying to buy a £329.99 Xbox from Argos.

Paisey, 26, had been accused of being part of a group of men who had gone to the victim's house in January last year.

They gave a 'cock and bull story' about rat infestation and fleeced the vulnerable victim out of the money, but Paisey was identified from his fingerprints on a receipt.

When the men were in the house one also lifted the old man's wallet and soon after the defendant was using the bank card for his own ends.

After checking it had not been cancelled with the small purchase at the Co-op he went for a bigger item, but never actually got his hands on it.

Paisey, formerly of Kingsley Road, Chippenham, but now of Centenary Court, Trowbridge, denied burglary and was found not guilty, but admitted three counts of fraud.

After they had returned their verdict at Swindon Crown Court, the jury of ten women and two men looked on as prosecutor Colin Meeke outlined the defendant's long history of crime.

He told of convictions for burglary, violence, witness intimidation and rogue trader offences where he claimed to be on Check A Trade, when he was not.

Andrew Stone, defending, said his client had been brought up in care and fell in with some travellers who lived a fairly lawless life.

In order to be accepted by them he said he joined in but no longer wanted to be associated with them.

Jailing him Recorder Robert Pawson said: “You have pleaded guilty to four other offences, the most serious of which in my view is the fraud.

“You were involved in a joint enterprise with others to make a false representation all about this cock and bull story about rat infestation.

“It led to someone in your group leaving with £80 in cash and a cheque for £1,620.

“Most important in my judgement is this: you and your colleagues deliberately targeted - I see you shaking your head, you have shown no remorse. At no stage did you volunteer and apology.

“I have heard about your background but you imagine you had a grandfather of 87 living on his own and different men come round and hassle him, putting it neutrally as I can, is absolutely disgraceful. Picking on the weakest members of society.”