Fund for ex-police officer tricked out of £15k hits target

Mr Thompson made the news after he lost his savings to a scam

A 91-year-old man tricked out of almost £15,000 of his life savings by a scam said he was "so grateful" after an online campaign raised the cash.

Former police officer John Thompson, from Sprotbrough, in Doncaster, lost £14,700 when he was tricked on the phone into transferring the money.

He said: "I just wanted to get the story over so other people would not be conned into the same sort of thing."

The Yorkshire Post campaign has now raised more money than he lost.

The fraudsters had used sophisticated methods to bypass Mr Thompson's call blocking software to make it look like they were calling from his local bank branch.

The fund, started on Wednesday, has seen donations ranging from £2 to £5,000, with more than 480 contributors.

Mr Thompson said: "I am so grateful to everybody that has chipped in".

The money would be used for his grandchildren as "their foot on the ladder", he added.

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James Mitchinson, the Yorkshire Post editor, said: "We were pleased to do our bit really."

South Yorkshire Police previously said Mr Thompson had been unable to receive a refund for his loss from the bank as it is seen as an "authorised push payment", meaning he had moved the money himself rather than it being stolen from his account.

Andy Foster, the force's fraud protection officer, said: "A legitimate bank would never contact you to ask you to transfer your money into another account."