A CONMAN who tricked elderly church-goers out of thousands of pounds by pretending to have been sent by the local vicar has been jailed.

Mark Rhodes targeted 10 pensioners in Derbyshire along with victims from across the country.

The homeless 25-year-old talked his way into houses in Spondon, Belper, Matlock, Risley and Duffield during his nationwide crime spree.

Rhodes, who was arrested after his photograph was featured in the most wanted section on BBC's Crimewatch, pocketed at least £8,200 during the six-month scam.

On sentencing Rhodes at Gloucester Crown Court yesterday, Judge William Hart said he had committed a nationwide "torrent" of offending.

He said: "You planned these offences and you showed a degree of sophistication and a great degree of persistence in carrying them out.

"It was a sustained course of conduct – a torrent, a nationwide torrent, of offending by you on an almost daily basis."

The conman began targeting homes in the county in February this year and among his victims was a 76-year-old woman, of Derby Road, Risley.

During the distraction burglary on February 23 he pretended to be employed by Balfour Beatty but claimed there had been a mix-up with his wages and that a local vicar had recommended the woman for a loan.

He used a similar story on a 77-year-old man in Leighton Way, Belper, on March 3, and residents in Pingle Crescent and Prospect Court on the same day.

Pensioners in Loco Road, Spondon; Dagnall Close, Bakewell; Matlock Green, Matlock; Old Vicarage Close, Littleover and Havenbaulk Avenue, Littleover, also handed over money to Rhodes.

And a 69-year-old man, of Eaton Court Hall, Duffield, was accompanied to a cashpoint by the conman before handing over money.

Speaking after the hearing detective chief inspector Gary Goacher, head of CID at Ripley, said it was not easy to track Rhodes down due to his transient lifestyle.

He said: "This man preyed on elderly, vulnerable people and took advantage of their good nature and generosity.

"He went to considerable lengths to research the areas he visited and people who lived there to make his story sound more plausible."

Rhodes admitted all 69 offences and yesterday was sentenced to five years for the burglary offences and three years for fraud – both sentences are to run concurrently.

The court heard how Rhodes, who had a criminal record dating back to 2001, had started the offences shortly after being released from jail in Scotland in December 2008.

He was finally arrested after his picture was shown on the BBC's Crimewatch programme and a landlady in Ipswich contacted the show to stay he had been staying at her pub.

Mary Harley, prosecuting, said: "He finds out who are the prominent members of that community and then visits them saying 'I have been sent by your local pastor or vicar' and says he is awaiting a pay cheque and is seeking a loan.

"Those church members, through generosity and trust, provided various amounts of money."

Lloyd Jenkins, mitigating, said: "His offences were clearly pre-meditated.

"This is a professional job by a professional fraudster, he accepts that.

"He is ashamed and embarrassed by it."