A Surbiton man who pretended to administer a fake Covid-19 vaccine to a 92-year-old woman and defraud her out of £140 has been jailed.

David Chambers, 33, from Surbiton, was jailed for three-and-a-half years (42 months) at Kingston Crown Court on Friday (August 13).

The judge, Recorder Hannah Kinch, described Chambers’ actions as "shameful and despicable".

The Surbiton man was also handed a seven-year criminal behaviour order that restricts him from approaching members of the public and offering any type of work service.

The court heard how Chambers went to the address of an elderly lady on Wednesday, December 30 last year as the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the UK.

The Surbiton man told her he was from the NHS and there to administer the Covid 19 vaccine. The victim allowed him inside her home and was reportedly touched on the arm with what she described as a "dart-like implement".

He then asked her for, and received, £140, saying it would be reimbursed by the NHS, before leaving. Just days later, on Monday January 4, Chambers went to the victim’s address again, and asked for a further £100. The police appeal was launched on January 8.

Chambers subsequently went on the run and was arrested at a friend's house on January 13.

T/Detective Inspector, Kevin Ives, from the City of London Police’s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit, said of the case:

"This was a heartless and shocking offence with David Chambers showing a complete disregard of an elderly woman’s health, exploiting public concern during this global pandemic.

"We are grateful to members of the public for the large amount of information received following our appeal, which led to this arrest. Make no mistake: this will have stopped other members of the public being defrauded and assaulted. There could very easily have been more people whose lives were endangered whilst believing they had been vaccinated against this deadly virus. It is important to remember the vaccine is only available on the NHS and is free of charge. The NHS will never visit your home unannounced or ask for bank details, PIN numbers or passwords, when contacting you about a vaccination."

The Crown Prosecution Service said Chambers had "used fears generated by the pandemic to cynically extract funds" from the victim.

The 92-year-old who was targeted also gave a statement with the conclusion of the case.

"I’ve lived in Surbiton all my life and I have never been subjected to such a deceitful and horrific crime," she said.

"It has been a difficult few months coming to terms with the reality that someone could go to such lengths to defraud a person. Knowing first hand someone would use the Covid 19 vaccination process to scam money from the elderly is very harrowing. I hope this doesn’t deter people from getting vaccinated. It is important people are aware of these scams and always check the validity of what people say when they contact you by phone or knock on your door. These scams are on the rise and they specifically target the elderly. This person posed as an NHS employee with a fake lanyard and gained access to my home," she added, thanking her friends and neighbours at the City of London police who worked on the case with the Metropolitan Police Service.