A devious conman who would pose as a middle-aged woman while selling fake Wimbledon tennis tickets has been spared jail.

Bradley Roquette, a 33-year-old architecture student, pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud in June after being caught selling more than £2,200 of the dodgy tickets he designed and made at home.

He was arrested following a covert police operation - codenamed Podium - in which he was caught selling an undercover officer a £900 counterfeit ticket for the Ladies' Singles final between Petra Kitkova and Maria Sharapova.

At his home, in Duppas Hill Road, Croydon, officers found evidence of printers and paper which he used to make the Wimbledon tickets, as well as evidence relating to fake tickets for other events.

Police described the fakes as "high quality" and revealed how Roquette would hide his true identity by using a variety of online personas, often posing as a middle-aged woman in the belief it would make him more trustworthy to his victims.

He would then make excuses as to why the female seller could not be there in person and then met his victims in person under a different alias to exchange the tickets for cash.

Detective Superintendent Nick Downing, from Operation Podium, said: "He duped many innocent fans into buying fake tickets, paying way over the odds for matches and concerts which they didn't get to see.

"We will take robust action to disrupt those criminals who defraud the public and undermine events.

"If you buy tickets from unofficial places you also run the risk of having your personal and credit card details stolen for use in other crimes."

Appearing at Southwark Crown Court yesterday, Roquette was given an eight-month suspended sentence, 150 hours of community service and a serious crime prevention order to prevent him selling tickets at all major sporting events and concerts for the next five years.

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