A ONE-LEGGED conman who tricked a woman into marrying him so he could fleece her of more than £22,000 has been jailed.

Devious Alan Freeman Harrison, 42, swept Joanna Thomas off her feet during a whirlwind romance after they met through the internet.

He even donned a paramedic’s uniform every morning and pretended to go off to work for the ambulance service in a bid to gain her trust.

But Liverpool Crown Court heard the serial fraudster was weaving a web of deceit simply to steal her savings.

Even before their wedding in February 2007 he began to apply for credit cards in his bride-to-be’s name.

Mike Stephenson, prosecuting, told how during their short marriage of just two months he stole cheques from his wife, secured an £8,000 loan in her name and plundered her bank account.

Ms Thomas, who had no debt or credit cards before the scam, has now been left with a blackened credit rating and is hounded by bailiffs.

Jailing him for 32 months, Judge David Hale said: “It was a whirlwind romance. You no doubt swept her off her feet.

“All the time you were planning to take money from her and through her, without any regard for her feelings or her future or the damage you were doing to her.

“Your life is a sham. It’s obvious you’ve caused immense pain.

The court heard that, in 1997, Harrison emptied the account of another woman in Warrington after starting a relationship with her.

Harrison, of Jamesbrook Close, Birkenhead, admitted 10 fraud charges and one of obtaining services by deception between January and April, 2007.