‘As long he is breathing, I’m not safe’: romance fraud victim flees UK after jailed conman is freed

As cases of romance fraud soar by 27%, tricked woman tells of her 115,000 ordeal

The first time Yvonne met Gary Rogers he arrived at her house in a shiny black Range Rover smelling of Armani Code perfume, with neatly gelled silver hair. It was August 2017, and Yvonne's ex-husband had suggested she ask the motor dealer, known locally as the Jag man", to fix her car.

Yvonne* says their relationship developed slowly. Gary" boasted he had been spending time on his 42-ft boat, claimed to own two houses, and once turned up in a Porsche to take her for a drink. As they began to see more of each other, he would arrive at Yvonne's house with freshly cut fruit and smoked salmon, always with a wad of money on him.