A fraudster who pretended to be in a coma for two years was caught by police going on shopping trips and holidays with his family.Conman Alan Knight of Swansea, South Wales, faked being in a vegetative state after he scammed his next door neighbour out of £40,000.
The 47-year-old tried to beat justice by claiming he was a quadriplegic - his family said he was hooked up to oxygen and had no movement from the neck down
He was caught out after CCTV captured him walking around Tesco and driving his car to Dorset.Knight was then hauled before Swansea Crown Court where he admitted scamming the pensioner who lived next door to him out of thousands of pounds.
The fraudster had been living off benefits after claiming he had suffered a massive neck injury.
His wife Helen, 33, claimed she had to care for her husband who had snapped his neck after falling backwards as he pulled down a garage door.But the whole time he was carrying out an elaborate three-year fraud targeting neighbour Ivor Richards' life savings and shares.
He 'systematically' funnelled £41,570 out of the pensioner's bank account which he used to pay for holidays and to buy a caravan in Dorset.
The father-of-three was caught on CCTV at the Severn bridge toll on the M4 as he travelled back from the south coast.He was also captured on CCTV in Tesco stores across the country after police traced the use of the family's loyalty club card.
Officers tried 'at least twice' to bring him to court but each time he admitted himself to hospital claiming his condition had worsened.He was however unable to fool doctors at the hospital.
While he was on 'observations' they spotted him eating, wiping his face and even writing.
Knight was told he would have to stand trial even if he did not attend, and he finally appeared in court in a wheel chair and wearing a neck brace.
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