A family defrauded out of tens of thousands of pounds by a cold-hearted conman have told of the catastrophic effect it has had on their lives.

Janice Gates took in her daughter’s then-boyfriend who subsequently fleeced them of their life savings, totalling more than £55,000.

Sam Alexander, 24, claimed he was called Sam Poplar and created a string of lies to deceive the family.

Speaking after he was jailed for four years, Mrs Gates, 56, says the betrayal has had a devastating impact on their lives and she now wants to make other people aware.

She said: “It has been absolute hell.

“He took every penny of my inheritance from my dad. We really had no clue what was going on.”

After the fraud was discovered, Mr Alexander was arrested - but then released on bail ahead of his court hearing.

Mrs Gates added: “It was a nightmare seeing him swanning about.

“It was extremely frustrating, we are so glad he’s been jailed now.”

Mrs Gates lives in Ramsgate with her husband Simon, 59, and daughter Jodie Nicholson, 26.

She added: “The impact it’s had on us as a family is devastating.

“Jodie even tried to take her own life because of the guilt she feels.

“He was a pig to Jodie, he would prod her and call her names and often be very nasty.

“We’ve been left in financial ruin - we’ve lost everything.

“My husband is working long hours and it breaks my heart seeing him suffer.”

Mr Alexander told lie after lie in a bid for the family’s sympathy and support.

“His lies were absolutely disgusting,” said Mrs Gates.

“He pretended that his mum had died of cancer, even though she is actually alive and well.

“It’s sickening to think about and how he could sleep at night and not feel any guilt is unbelievable.

“He was so convincing and he was very charming, funny and seemed to be kind and caring.

“We thought of him like a son and we feel so foolish.

“He even lied and said he had cancer, it really was awful.

“He’d do things like scream out in the middle of the night and pretend he’d coughed up blood.

“Looking back now, everything he did was just for attention, like saying he had depression so didn’t want to leave the house.

“He’s a vile scumbag and a predator.”

Mr Alexander had moved in with the family in 2015 and it was Mr Gates who suspected something was wrong with their finances in the summer of 2016.

Mrs Gates said: “It was Simon who realised something wasn’t right with our money, as the figures didn’t add up.

“Sam straight away was saying ‘it wasn’t me, don’t try to blame me’.

“When the police came to our house to arrest him he clung onto me screaming.

“When I found out what he’d done I nearly passed out, I was so ill from it all.

“He blew all our money on gambling and stole jewellery from us too.

“The impact it’s had on us is catastrophic, we are financially struggling.

“We just can’t believe it’s happened to us, it’s like a nightmare.”

Mrs Gates says her and her daughter feel like they’ve ‘been abused’ because of it.

“I can’t begin to describe how sad and heartbroken we feel,” she said

“For him to tell her he loved her then do this is terrible.

“We broke down in court but he showed no remorse at all. He stood there with a dead pan face and felt no guilt or shame."

Since Mr Alexander’s sentencing, Mrs Gates says the family are trying to move on.

She said: “It’s still so raw for us. It’s going to take a long time to get through, but we will eventually.

“It makes you very aware of people and it sadly makes you doubt them.

“It isn’t a nice feeling as we are a very kind and friendly family.

“The police response has been excellent though and we’d like to thank them for their support, especially during the court process.

“The sentence he’s got just isn’t long enough. We worry he’ll do it again to someone else as soon as he gets out.

“We’ve got a 10-year restraining order, so we hope we never have to see him ever again.

“We are really hoping to highlight our story to make other people aware and help stop it happening to others - it is just evil.”

Alexander of Grove Road, Ramsgate, was sentenced after admitting six counts of theft and fraud at Canterbury Crown court on Monday, January 8.