A man pretended to be in a coma for two years and swindled his pensioner neighbour out of over £40,000.
Alan Knight from Swansea pretended to be quadriplegic and in a coma for two years while swindling his neighbour out of £40,000 (just over €50,000), which he used to go on holidays and shopping trips.
According to The BBC, Knight had avoided court on at least two previous occasions by checking into hospital, but that he was eventually brought before Swansea Crown Court and has admitted to theft and forgery in what Det Con Paul Harry described as "the most calculated, long-term deception of a vulnerable, elderly neighbour I have ever seen".
Knight's wife, Helen, claimed that his injury occurred after he fell backwards as he pulled down a garage door, and that she needed to care for him as a result. He claimed that the "massive neck injury" caused him to have seizures and left him in a coma.
However, police were finally able to prove his deception after he was captured on CCTV doing his shopping in Tesco and driving his car to Dorset.
Pic via BBC
Knight had been living on benefits for the past two years, and was able to get £41,570 out of his neighbour's bank account at the same time. It is believed that the bank reimbursed his victim, however, and he will be sentenced next month.
Via BBC. Main pic via William Warby/Flickr
