A man conned a vulnerable elderly woman into giving him money by pretending he knew her dead son, a court heard.

Wesley Temple, 25, knocked on the 92-year-old woman's door in King's Lynn in August pretending to be a gardener and offered to cut down some trees in her garden.

He quoted the total cost to be £310 but when she said she only had £100 in cash he took it as a deposit.

Temple handed her a flyer which belonged to another contractor before leaving.

Temple, of Kelvedon Road, Colchester, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation when he appeared before King's Lynn magistrates.

Fergus Harold, prosecuting, said Temple had spoken to the defendant about her son, who was deceased, to gain her confidence.

It was only after the victim called the police when Temple did not return that she realised he must have known her son's name from a memorial she has in her garden.

Mr Harold read out a statement prepared by the victim, in which she said she feels unsafe when she is alone at home, adding: 'I have lost my confidence. If I am alone I do not answer the door any more.'

The court heard Temple had been given two suspended sentences for previous offences of theft and fraud between 2010 and 2014.

Natasha Barker, mitigating for Temple, said he was in difficult circumstances at the time.

Ms Barker added: 'He fully accepts what he did was wrong, he is ashamed of his behaviour.'

Ms Barker said Temple did not target the victim because she was vulnerable, adding: 'This was more an opportunistic offence - there was no sufficient planning and he wouldn't have known who was behind that door.'

But chairman of the bench, district judge Nicholas Watson, said he could not accept that argument.

He asked the Crown Prosecution Service for more information about Temple's previous conviction before sentencing.

He also asked for evidence on his family circumstances to determine how a custodial sentence would affect them. Adjourning the case until November 17, the judge told Temple: 'I am not ruling out sending you to crown court for sentencing.

'I appreciate it was a small value but it had a huge impact on the victim.'