A MAN has appeared in court in connection with an alleged near-£8,000 scam on an 83-year-old Greenock pensioner.

James Ralston denies carrying out a bogus workman-style fraud at the OAP’s home in Burns Road.

It is alleged that 23-year-old Ralston conned the elderly man out of £7,800 whilst acting with others in February.

He is charged with pretending to have carried out roofing work to that value, including felt and tile replacement, pointing and moss removal.

Prosecutors say that Ralston, of Robert Smillie Crescent, Larkhall, induced his alleged victim to write two cheques for ‘falsely declared work’.

Sheriff Ruth Anderson called for an early trial date to be maintained, stating that the allegations were of the ‘utmost seriousness’.

She added: “The complainer is 83 and I don’t want him being inconvenienced by any lack or preparation by the defence or the Crown.” Ralston — who is said to frequently visit a girlfriend in Northern Ireland — has also been ordered not to leave Scotland ahead of the case against him being called again. He must also make himself available for an identity parade within 48 hours notice.

The Telegraph told in February how police had detained a total of three men in relation to the alleged fraud following a public appeal for information.

But two of the men were later released without charge and the other, a 25-year-old from England, was arrested for allegedly providing false details in a separate matter. Ralston is due to appear in court again on Tuesday, with his trial scheduled for 29 April.