Two conmen who persuaded an elderly woman she needed thousands of pounds worth of unnecessary work doing on her roof are today rightly behind bars for their crimes.

They fleeced the 84-year-old of her savings to cover the cost of needless and shoddy repairs out of pure greed and selfishness.

The victim, Marjorie Greenwood, has bravely spoken out to warn others to beware of unscrupulous and cowardly criminals like these.

They pounced when she was particularly vulnerable after a hip operation, and took advantage of her lack of knowledge of building work to rip her off.

Although elderly, Miss Greenwood is undoubtedly alert and articulate, but despite this was still taken in by the pair with a combination of bluff and bluster.

Her story once again sadly illustrates why we all must be very wary of builders who come knocking at the door, and if they believe they have fallen victim to some sort of con, alert the police as soon as possible.

The Telegraph & Argus launched its With Respect campaign two years ago in a concerted effort to try and improve the way our society deals with the elderly at all levels.

The criminal actions of these two and others like them show a complete lack of respect for a generation that has sacrificed much to try and build a better society for all.

The police have made it clear they will not tolerate such crimes, and will rigorously investigate any allegations of cons like this.

Let us hope that pledge and the jail sentences handed down to these two crooks acts as a deterrent to those low life who are tempted to try and exploit society’s vulnerable for their own greed.