A CRUEL conman who squandered a mentally ill pensioner's life savings to fund "a premiership football lifestyle" was yesterday (August 27) jailed for four years.

Father-of-one Timothy Ditcher splashed out on a £85,000 Mercedes, paying the entire bill in cash from a carrier bag.

During his year-long spending spree the interior designer also acquired three gold Rolex watches for £38,550 and put down a £5,000 deposit on a Ferrari Spyder.

A personalised number plate for the £112,000 sports car cost him £6,320, Bournemouth Crown Court heard.

Ditcher also bought furniture and carpets for his mother's flat in Bournemouth and spent thousands of pounds on foreign currency.

The 45-year-old from Cavendish Place, Bournemouth, admitted 18 counts of theft, involving a total of £265,000, from May 2000 until June 2001.

Prosecutor Ian Fenny recalled how Ditcher had callously exploited his mother's "frail, vulnerable and confused" neighbour Evelyn Everaerts who lived "a frugal lifestyle" in the flat below.

The 86-year-old pensioner died on November 19 last year, unaware that her considerable wealth had been frittered away by "ruthless" Ditcher, posing as a friend.

The court heard how Miss Everaerts had made a last will and testament in December 1999 leaving her entire estate to six charities.

She later sold land in Florida and cashed in investments, reducing her annual income from more than £40,000 to just £2,000.

"During the period of his offending Ditcher was receiving £843 a day from Evelyn Everaerts," said Mr Fenny, who said the money was being used to pay for Ditcher's "premier football lifestyle."

By the time Miss Everaerts' solicitor became suspicious and alerted the police the pensioner was "in the advance grip of dementia," the court heard.

Defending, Russell Pyne said Ditcher was a man of previous good character who had given up his job to look after his ailing partner.

"Part of the proceeds of his crimes were used to fund medical treatment for his seriously ill girlfriend in Germany and America."

Sentencing Ditcher, Judge Samuel Wiggs said: "The use to which you put the proceeds of your crimes was extravagant - to say the least.

"The fact that you were spending money on your girlfriend's medical treatment cannot, in any sense, excuse what you did for your own benefit. I regard this as a particularly serious case because of the degree of vulnerability of Miss Everearts."

Ditcher sobbed and shook as he was led away to begin his jail sentence.

First published: August 28