A conman who preyed on a vulnerable university student and fleeced him out of more than £600 when he gave him a sob story about being homeless has been locked up.

Brian Mains met the student in Newcastle city centre last year and coerced him into handing over £120 in cash to help him get a taxi back to Newcastle after convincing him that he had a £1,500 bursary waiting for him.

The 40-year-old promised to pay him back the following day but instead persuaded him to hand over even more money, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Rachel Masters, prosecuting, said Mains told the student that he needed extra cash to prove his identity to access his own money. In total Mains swindled £620 out of the student.

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She said the vulnerable student handed over the money for food after hearing that Mains’ father had died and he was going to have to sleep rough.

Miss Masters said the student handed over £240 to Mains after he told him he needed the cash to be able to gain access to his own money.

The student raised concerns about Mains with friends in his university accommodation and one accompanied him to a third meeting with the defendant in May 2021 before the police were eventually called and he was arrested.

In a victim impact statement, the student said he had been left financially out of pocket, but due to his autistic traits it meant he played the whole episode over and over in his head.

Mains, of South Road, Stockton, was found guilty of fraud by false representation in his absence and pleaded guilty to failing to surrender to the police or court.

Paul Green, mitigating, said his client was sober and clean from drugs after being remanded in custody following his arrest when he failed to appear at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court.

He added: “He is stable on his mental health medication and this will be the first opportunity for him to start clean and engage with the probation service.”

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And Mains told the judge: “I didn’t realise the lad was vulnerable – I wouldn’t have done that.

“I’m sorry about the lad, I didn’t mean to make him feel like that. Will you say sorry to him for me?”

Recorder Anthony Kelbrick sentenced Mains to 12 months in prison.

He said: “You have committed 103 offences using at least ten aliases - you have a dreadful history of dishonesty.”