Four men who defrauded an innocent woman in her 80s of her home and thousands of pounds have been jailed for over 13 years in total.

John Paul O'Connor, John Keenan, Samuel Smith, and Roger Knights were sentenced for their part in a crime which left the old lady without a home and over £100,000.

During a period of five years, they targeted the woman, convincing her she needed expensive work done on her home.

In 2008, she was pressured into signing her home over to O'Connor, who told her he would be able to carry out the works while allowing her to live in the house.

John Keenan was sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison

O'Connor took the victim to a solicitor who did not act in her best interests and the house was subsequently sold to O'Connor for less than a third of its market value.

Open sale of her home, the victim was told to write out four cheques, totalling £70,000 which were paid into two accounts in the name of Roger Knight. Once cleared, the cash was removed from Knight's accounts.

John Paul O'Connor was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison

Samuel Smith then targeted the victim, falsely informing her that the property needed underpinning and defrauding the victim out of a further £28,500. He subsequently returned to the property and defrauded her out of another £8,500.

In 2013, the victim was further defrauded when she was informed that she could re-purchase the property.

Samuel Smith was jailed for three years for his crimes

This arrangement forced her to ask an elderly friend to help finance the purchase. She transferred £27,000 into an account held by John Keenan who took immediate steps to dissipate those funds.

Police subsequently became aware of the offences and an investigation was launched.

During the investigation it was established that John Keenan had credited his 11-year-old daughter's account with over £100,000 cash over an 18-month period. These funds were spent on luxury goods and living expenses.

Roger Knight was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years

O'Connor, 36 of Sevenoaks, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation and was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison.

Smith, 40 of Old Bath Road, Charvil, Reading pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation and was sentenced to three years behind bars.

Keenan, 39 of Arrow Close, Luton, Bedfordshire pleaded guilty to two counts of money laundering and was sentenced to three years and eight months' imprisonment.

He was also sentenced to two years and 10 months imprisonment for a seperate incident in 2017 involving two elderly males. Both of his sentences will run simultaneously.

Knight, 44 of Meridian Way, Enfield pleaded guilty to money laundering concerned in an arrangement and was sentenced to 18 months, suspended for two years.

DC Rob Enderby of the Met's Criminal Finance Team, said: "This group repeatedly targeted the victim who lived alone and convinced her that she needed work done to her house, causing enormous distress.

"It will be a long time, if ever, that the victim's faith in others is restored but I hope that the conviction and sentencing of this unscrupulous group will at least help her begin to feel safer.

"I am pleased with these sentences which demonstrate just how seriously the police and the courts take these kinds of offences."

As part of his guilty plea, O'Connor has agreed to sign the house back over to the victim, therefore returning the title to her name. Confiscation proceedings will now take place.