A man who sought out vulnerable women to scam them out of thousands has been jailed.

John Robson, from Gorleston, appeared at Norwich Crown today after previously pleading guilty to two counts of theft, and four counts of fraud.

The offences took place between 2021 and 2023 when Robson began taking money and heirlooms from women he pretended to be in relationships with.

In 2021 his first fraud involved a long-distance relationship with a woman in Bournemouth.

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Robson pretended to be planning a move to the south coast to be closer to her, so he convinced her to send him money in 16 transfers - totalling more than £7,000 in what he said was moving costs and travelling for a death in the family.

Growing suspicious, as she was never repaid any money, the victim visited a park the 65-year-old was claiming to move to but nobody had heard of him, leading her to call the police.

Two years later Robson found his second victim on an online dating site and struck up a relationship.

After three months Robson offered to take her gold jewellery, much of which was family heirlooms, for cleaning.

The pieces valued to be worth £10,000 were never returned.

Police found Robson pawned these for £1,900, with some of the pieces never being recovered.

He also borrowed £150 cash from the victim to buy a motorhome, which he never purchased.

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PC David Moran said: “Robson is a serial romance fraudster. He is remorseless when it comes to seeking out vulnerable women online with the sole intention of making material gain out of them by any means possible, usually fraud or theft.

“The victims have lost family heirlooms that are irreplaceable, and their savings have been wiped clean by Robson.

"I commend their bravery for coming forward and helping secure this sentence to ensure he cannot target anyone else.”

Robson was jailed for four years and 10 months.