A retired couple were tricked into handing over £9,000 of their hard-earned savings after a fraudster rang them pretending to be a police officer.

Peter and Margaret Randall were told the caller was from the police in Bristol looking into unauthorised activity in their bank account and they were asked to help the investigation.

In a victim personal statement read out at Cardiff Crown Court Mr Randall said: “I worked hard for that money and it is all gone.”

The court heard the couple, from Dinas Powys, received a call on July 23 last year from an unknown man who told them he was a police officer.

Byron Broadstock, prosecuting, said the caller asked the couple to help the investigation by withdrawing £9,000 from their bank and told them what to say if the bank staff asked them any questions. Mr and Mrs Randall were told to give the cash to someone who would arrive at their home later that day with a password.

The court heard they handed the money to the courier, Mohammed Rahman. Police traced him through a Ford Focus he was seen driving on CCTV near the victims’ home. Rahman was seen to cross the Severn Bridge and return soon afterwards.

Mr Broadstock said: “The clear inference being the defendant has taken the money to the person who was on the other end of the phone.”

The defendant was arrested and answered “no comment” to all the questions put to him in his interview.

In his statement Mr Randall said: “I should have known it was a scam. I am upset to think what we could have done with the money. We could have spent it on our grandchildren.”

His wife said the incident had knocked their confidence and left her with “a feeling of disbelief”. Prosecutors said the bank refused to give the couple any compensation.

The court heard many similar incidents had been reported in the area, with more going unreported due to victims being too embarrassed to come forward.

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Rahman, 22, from Richards Terrace in Roath, Cardiff, admitted possessing criminal property. He told a probation officer he was not in debt but saw the scheme as a chance to make some “easy money”.

Ellen McAnaw, defending, said her client did not have any savings and would not be in a position to pay compensation. She told the court: “He was not the mastermind behind this fraud. He was simply the courier.”

Ms McAnaw said Rahman did not know what was in the package and his role was limited to moving it between locations. The court heard he was working part-time at his family’s Indian restaurant and he was judged to present a low risk of re-offending.

Ms McAnaw stressed he had no previous convictions, adding: “He is very sorry.”

Judge Niclas Parry said the sentence should be a deterrent but a jail term could be suspended in the circumstances. He told the defendant: “You were part of a sophisticated scam. You were a single cog in a big wheel but a very important cog.”

The judge said the scam was designed to exploit the naivete of vulnerable victims. He added: “They are naive because they are decent. They are naive because they are vulnerable. They are naive because they are trusting. They think the best of people.”

Rahman was given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for a year, and ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work, plus 10 days of a rehabilitation activity.