Seven years for conman who preyed on old women

Robert Markward, 49, who had been let out early from a six-year sentence, tricked his way into the homes of OAPs and robbed two of them of cash and jewellery.

Jailing him, the judge, Lord Turnbull, said: "It is clear from your history of offending you pose a substantial risk to a vulnerable element in society.

"The only course of action I can take is to incarcerate you for a long period of time. You began your recent offending only two days after being released."

He ordered Markward to serve the unexpired portion of his previous sentence before starting his new one, which would have been eight years if he had not pleaded guilty.

The High Court in Glasgow heard Markward used various excuses to get into elderly women's homes. He told one of his victims, a 75-year-old woman, that he was a friend of her son's and persuaded her to give him Sunday lunch, before stealing her purse containing 120, bank cards and her two grandchildren's baby bracelets.