A CONMAN, who disappeared during his trial, hid miles away from home and told locals he was a policeman searching for a prisoner on the run, a court heard.

Yesterday, Malcolm Moore, 40, was finally brought to justice and jailed for two years.

York Crown Court heard how Moore, convicted of 11 offences of fraud during his absence from the dock, duped people into parting with more than £54,000 by telling false stories.

In one case, he said he was suffering from cancer and needed money for treatment. His sympathising victim handed over £2,000.

That story and many others bagged him cheap homes, land and cars, said David Bradshaw, prosecuting.

Businessman Moore, of Prince of Wales Terrace, Scarborough, who owned the Merlin Fireworks factory at Catfoss Airfield, near Driffield, denied nine offences of deception and two of forgery between January 1999 and March 2000, involving seven people he knew.

He declined to give evidence, but claimed through his barrister that the money he obtained had been passed on to someone else.

Jailing Moore, Recorder, Franz Muller, QC, told him: "You are a consumate confidence trickster who took advantage of the gullibility of your chosen victims."

When Moore ran off before the end of his six-day trial, police discovered him hiding in a tent in Ambleside in the Lake District. They also found out that he told locals in a nearby pub that he was a policeman, tracking down an escapee.

They became suspicious and reported him to the police.