A conman swindled a woman who he met on a dating website out of £3,000 by claiming he could almost double her money by renovating a classic Porsche.

Jonathan Sheller told her he would put in the same amount and that they would each make a £2,000 profit from the scheme, but then fobbed her off with excuses and never gave her the money.

The woman from Devon spent years trying to track him down and get her investment back and was left distrustful of all business dealings.

Former Liberal Democrat campaign organiser Sheller claimed he had repaid the money and that he had been framed by his vengeful ex-wife.

Sheller, aged 50, of Hazel Road, Exeter, and formerly of Barton Villas, Dawlish, admitted fraud and was ordered to do 15 hours of unpaid community work by Judge Peter Johnson at Exeter Crown Court.

He told him: ‘This was a thoroughly mean deception of a woman who trusted you. You told a series of lies and produced documentation to suggest it was a genuine transaction. You made repeated promises to repay but never did so.’

Mr Richard Crabb, prosecuting, said Sheller met the woman through a dating site in 2017 and persuaded her to invest in his scheme to buy a Porsche for £6,000, carry out some minimal renovations, and sell it for £10,000, with each getting £5,000.

He produced a document detailing the arrangement but her attempts to inquire about the project or get her money were met by evasions and broken promises.

Sheller was not represented and applied to withdraw the guilty plea which he entered on November 1. He said he had repaid the money and was not guilty.

He said the allegation, and two others which were left to lie on file, were all inspired by his ex-wife.

He also claimed that enemies who had been stalking him were sat in the public gallery and tweeting about the case.

A probation report said Sheller has mental and physical health issues but is currently able to carry out unpaid work.