Michael Brooke, 54, of no fixed address, turned up at a string of properties across Sheffield and Rotherham claiming to be an 'official' such as a police officer or council worker.

The string of offences began on December 28 2021 when Brooke fraudulently sold a television, that was not his to sell, to another man who paid him via a bank transfer.

On January 8 this year, he entered a retail premises on Fitzalan Square and sold jewellery items to the staff, claiming they had been bought from a car boot sale.

Michael Brooke, 54, who posed as an official to steal from elderly and vulnerable people

Brooke also carried out three ‘bogus official’ burglaries on January 11 across Rotherham.

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The next day, he burgled a property in Sheffield after claiming to be a police officer there to discuss CCTV cameras. He distracted the resident and stole a handbag before leaving.

DC Dan Priest, of Sheffield’s burglary investigation team, said: “Michael Brooke shamelessly preyed on vulnerable people for his own gain, repeatedly lying to them to get into their properties and stealing from them.

“We will always work proactively to prevent this type of incident occurring and protect more vulnerable members of our communities, including the elderly.”

Brooke pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud and four counts of burglary at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday (June 7). He was jailed for eight years.

Yorkshire fraudster posed as bogus official to steal from vulnerable and elderly people