A man from Dollis Hill has been jailed for five years for scamming 26 pensioners out of thousands of pounds.

Hamza Ali, 23, of Gladstone Park Gardens, was arrested at Luton airport last year after taking a friend on an all-expenses-paid trip to Italy.

He was caught after phoning a Kent woman in her 70s and posing as a Met officer. He told her to put her belongings, about £20,000 worth of jewellery and her debit card, in a plastic bag and leave it outside her door for an officer to collect.

A few days later the victim received another call from Ali to authorise two payments as part of the investigation but Ali was actually inside a shop attempting to buy trainers.

He admitted conspiracy to commit fraud and was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Monday, along with courier Dujuane Mezu of Islington.

Det Insp Annie Clayton said they “showed no remorse for their involvement.”