A SERIAL con artist who pretended to be in distress and claimed she needed cash to get to her sick mother has been jailed for eight months.

Charlotte Branford would approach unsuspecting members of the public, often in the Fleming Way and Station Road areas, using a variety of excuses to trick them into handing over money.

The 36-year-old of Groves Street, who was jailed for two years and eight months in March last year for a string of thefts and frauds against elderly women, told them she had lost her house or car keys and needed it to travel to her grandmother’s house in Reading where there were spares.

She also claimed she was without the money to visit her sick mother or to get to her 96-year-old relative’s home.

Wiltshire Police said many people stopped to help her and when they offered her money she often said it wasn’t enough, pushing them to hand over more.

In one incident she pointed at her victim's purse to pressurise them into giving more money. She also pursued them to the extent of going with them to cash machines with them. Bransford gave her victims false details and phone numbers and promised to call them when she arrived at her destination so she could arrange a repayment.

She admitted eight charges of fraud and asked for another four to be taken into consideration when she appeared at Winchester Crown Court.

After the case PC Paul Bezzant spoke about the impact the crimes had on the victims Bransford had defrauded.

He said: "Branford was described as relentless by one victim, many were left feeling angry, stupid and foolish for believing she really was in need of help. We would never describe them as such, Branford was well rehearsed and often successful in her scam, the kind nature of these people was taken advantage of and it is not the victims that should feel ashamed."