A WINDOW cleaning conman asked his unsuspecting victim to hand over a £10 cheque for his services - and then penned in alterations so it read £110.

Matthew Barker admitted stealing £100 from the woman and forging a cheque for £110 when he appeared yesterday before Droitwich magistrates.

But the prosecution, who revealed he had appeared before the same court a fortnight ago on similar charges, asked for a second deception charge to be withdrawn.

The fraud duped his victim between Monday, August 20, and Sunday, October 21, said Stephen Harris, prosecuting.

"He cleans the windows and then gets a cheque for the agreed amount which is £10," explained Mr Harris.

"Then he fills in the cheque and £10 turns into, in this case, £110.

"He then pays it into his own bank account. It's quite simple really."

Mr Harris revealed Barker, of Abbey View Road, Pinvin, near Pershore, had been given an 80-hour community punishment order on Thursday, October 18 for "similar offences".

But it emerged the 22-year-old had already missed an appointment with the Probation Service and had to be sent a letter warning him to comply with the terms of the order.

All in all, he had completed just seven hours of his punishment, the court was told.

Martha Recordon, defending Barker, asked for his case to be adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

A less detailed specific sentence report had been written before magistrates decided his fate on October 18.

"Bearing in mind the similar nature of the offences for which he was in court less than three weeks ago, it seems sensible," she said.

Magistrates adjourned Barker's case until Monday, November 26.