​A conman who plundered a vulnerable woman’s savings by telling her needed loans to avoid being beaten up has walked free from court.

Lee Turner spun the yarns to the victim, who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, after meeting her on a bus.

The 27-year-old would meet her as she left her job as a volunteer at a charity shop in Corsham and walk her to the bank to get his hands on the cash.

His deception came to light only when the woman burst into tears after a bank teller told her she had withdrawn all her savings as she tried to get more cash.

Claire Marlow, prosecuting, told Swindon crown court that Turner met his victim at the start of last year and they got talking on the bus ride in the town.

He asked her to lend him cash, saying he was in trouble and faced being attacked if he couldn’t find the money.

Miss Marlow said: “He would go with her. She would go in, withdraw money and give it to him.”

She said from February to May last year, he took varying amounts from £20 on one occasion up to £300 on another.

The matter came to light when the woman tried to withdraw a further £260 only to be told that there was no money left.

When she told staff she had met a man called Lee Turner and she was giving him the money, the branch manager told her to contact the police, realising she was vulnerable.

Turner was arrested and admitted he had been borrowing the money and telling her ‘cock and bull stories’ to get his hands on the cash.

Miss Marlow said: “He admitted taking money from her, saying she was an easy target because she was ‘a bit behind’.

“He admitted when he asked to borrow the money he didn’t have the funds to pay it back. He was on benefits at the time.”

Turner, now of Ryde on the Isle of Wight, pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud and one of failing to surrender to custody. He denied two similar frauds which were left to lie on the file.

Andrew Eddy, defending, said his client admitted taking £450 dishonestly but insisted the other £300 was borrowed for genuine reasons.

He said Turner was ashamed of what he had done and was determined to pay back the cash regardless of the decision of the court.

Mr Eddy said his client had been smoking a lot of cannabis at the time of the offences when he was living in Wiltshire but was now settled on the Isle of Wight with his uncle and aunt who had also found him work.

He said that after failing to turn up to a hearing in June his client had been remanded in custody and spent 50 days behind bars awaiting sentence.

Judge Euan Ambrose said: “Given her vulnerability, this is the sort of case which quite rightly provokes strong feelings.

“People are quite appalled to hear that vulnerable people are taken advantage of. From what I have read about you, you realise that and I judge the remorse shown by you to be genuine.”

He imposed a one-year community order, saying Turner would be under supervision for that time and told him to repay £750 at £25 a week.

The judge added: “I make it absolutely clear that if it hadn’t been for the fact you had served the equivalent of a 14-week prison sentence you would be going downstairs.”