Fraudster Stephen Ross, 51, of Bromley

A fraudster who claimed he was friends with Sir Richard Branson, Sir Paul McCartney and Simon Cowell has been jailed for five years after fleecing a couple out of their life savings.

Stephen Ross, 51, of Drake Mews, Bromley pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud and was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court earlier this month.

He is said to have groomed his victims for years and earned their trust by sometimes claiming he lost his leg in July 2005 London bombings - which is untrue.

He garnered thousands of pounds from his victims, who believed he worked as a broker, to fund his lavish lifestyle.

Det Con John Farthing, of Bromley’s CID, said: “Ross is an accomplished confidence trickster and convincing storyteller who has conned people from all walks of life, including vulnerable people and business owners.

“He also shamelessly used his disability to appear frail in order to lower the victim’s defences and trust him. However, this facade slipped when Ross was challenged by the victims about the money, when he became an aggressive bully.”