A FRAUDSTER hunted by police for tricking an elderly man out of almost £100,000 has connections to Worcester.

Felix Rooney defrauded the 72-year-old man of tens of thousands of pounds by claiming he needed work doing to his roof.

The conman is one of the City of London Police and National Crime Agency's top ten most wanted fraudsters linked to over £20million fraud losses in the UK and abroad.

Rooney told the victim his roof required urgent repairs and they entered into an agreement for these to be carried out.

However, once work was underway, the builder repeatedly told the victim that extra work was required and the total bill rose to nearly £100,000, which was paid by the victim in instalments.

Trading Standards has since surveyed the address and estimated the true value of the work to be less than £1,000.

Detectives in Greater Manchester want to question Rooney, who also goes by other names including Michael Hannon and Martin Connors.

Rooney is 35 and has an Irish accent and scars on his face.

He travels extensively but has links to the West Midlands, Worcester and London areas.

Rooney has a history of preying on the elderly and vulnerable, and he may have shaved his head and already be reoffending.

He was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in March 2011 after stealing money from elderly victims by getting into their homes by claiming he was from the Water Board.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives from Greater Manchester Police on 0161 856 6860.

Detectives also advise members of the public who see him not to approach him but call police immediately.