A HAMPSHIRE pensioner conned out of his £75,100 life savings by fraudsters has spoken exclusively to the Daily Echo about the ordeal.

The 81-year-old victim was tricked out of his money by a gang of conmen who paved the driveway of his New Forest home.

The four men involved have been sentenced to a total of 13 and half years behind bars.

The victim, who the Daily Echo has agreed not to name, started work at 14 making parts for Spitfires and moved to Wales to become a collier and help with the war effort.

He then become a psychiatric nurse in Hampshire and spent the next 40 years of his life caring for others before being made an MBE for services to the profession.

He told the Daily Echo: "I am gratified by the sentence and I feel that retribution has been made. I would have liked damages to have been paid as I have lost a lot of money.

"But it is not just the money. I have always considered myself a reasonably intelligent man and so it is embarrassing to be duped by scallywags such as this - although I think these scams are increasingly sophisticated. I used to be very trusting and that is why they preyed on me. Now I feel much more suspicious of people. The impact on me has been pretty devastating."

The victim praised the police for their handling of the case and said: "They were very supportive and made me feel safe and secure at times when I might otherwise have felt vulnerable.

He went on to say he saved all his life and continued to work long after retirement to ensure he would have enough money to enjoy holidays and hobbies in his later years.

He said: "I think it probably happens a lot and people are too scared or embarrassed to come forward. These people targeted me because they thought I was vulnerable because of my age. They are parasites and a menace to society unless they are caught.

"I hope the sentence helps me close a door on this experience and puts off people who might be thinking of trying a similar con on someone else."

Michael Maloney, 22, got three and half years and his nephew Joseph Maloney, 20, got three years while Andrew Billings, 21, was sentenced to four years and Stuart Woodford, 27, got three and a half years at Southampton Crown Court. The men, all from Crawley in West Sussex, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud.