Germany: Love scam accused caught out

A GERMAN woman helped catch a man suspected of carrying out scams against lovelorn women in Europe after she ended their whirlwind romance by hiding his only pair of shoes and calling the police.

Helena Logrippo, 48, met Guido Bannwart, 49, on the internet just before New Year's Eve and spent four days with him before his requests for money made her suspicious, Frankfurt police spokesman Alexander Kiessling said.

He said Ms Logrippo first lent Bannwart €700 (about 580) but began her own internet investigation when her lover asked for another €2,000.

She found a dozen victims who said they had been cheated out of a total of €500,000 by a man German's tabloid newspaper Bild has dubbed "Europe's worst marriage swindler".

"There was an international warrant out for his arrest and she helped us catch him," Mr Kiessling said. He added that Bannwart was in custody and awaiting extradition to France, where he is wanted.

Mr Kiessling said Ms Logrippo asked her neighbour to take Bann wart's shoes from outside her door and hide them so he could not run away when she called the police after her internet discoveries dashed her love affair.

"He was my kind of guy: tall, strong, with a great smile," Ms Logrippo told Bild newspaper. "It was love at first sight."