A teenager who helped target a vulnerable pensioner and threatened her with the police if she didn’t settle a fictitious window cleaning bill has been locked up.

Alan Pearson was just 16 when the pensioner was ripped off to the tune of £170 when she paid the cash after she became intimidated by the teenager and an unknown older accomplice.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the pair spotted the pensioner walking with a frame before following her home and conning their way into her flat.

Emma Atkinson, prosecuting, said the pensioner was recovering from an operation following a fall when the two men fleeced her out of her money.

The Northern Echo: Bishop Auckland teenager blackmailed vulnerable pensioner with police threat over fake window

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Initially, they demanded £70 for washing her windows at her previous home before increasing the demand to £170 which she paid to get them out of her home.

Miss Atkinson said the pensioner asked for a receipt which the older man was unable to write before Pearson stepped in and wrote it out.

“They also claimed that they had cleared her gutters but she was quite stoic and refused to hand over any more money and asked them to leave,” she said.

“It was from the pen and paper used for the receipt that the defendant’s fingerprints were found.”

The court heard how the pair left before returning and telling their victim had made a mistake before offering her the money back but she refused to let them back into her flat.

In a victim personal statement, the pensioner said being blackmailed by the pair had resulted in her moving in with her son as she was too traumatised to return home.

Pearson, of Dalton Avenue, St Helens, Bishop Auckland, pleaded guilty to blackmail following the incident on November 11, 2021.

Calum McNicholas, mitigating, said his client had fallen in with a ‘bad crowd’ at the time of the incident and was struggling with drug addiction.

He added: “After the offence, the defendant went home to live with his parents and has been working for his father since then.”

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Judge Howard Crowson told the teenager that custody was inevitable after they targeted a vulnerable Stockton pensioner and locked him up for 15 months.

He said: “You saw and approached her as she walked home, there was no need to approach as neither of you knew her and you claimed to know her and you were the window cleaner and she owed you money.

"She owed you nothing, clearly she was targeted because of her obvious frailty. She was preyed up when you followed her home and your accomplice threatened her with the police.

"She had no reason to fear the police but she was worried about the involvement of the police and instead took the easy line she thought and decided to pay.

"It was a lie that she had ever had any window cleaning done."