Alan OwenGAZETTE & HERALD: ABANDONED boyfriend Alan Owen yesterday claimed his former lover Caroline Morgan tricked him out of thousands of pounds by pretending she was dying of cancer.

He said for four months Mrs Morgan, 35, fed him a pack of lies, saying she needed an urgent liver transplant and needed to go into a hospice because she had only days to live.

But Mr Owen, who cared for her at his home in Holland Close, Chippenham, said he now had overwhelming evidence that it was all a scam.

"Looking back things weren't adding up," he said. "But I never had reason to doubt her."

The 48-year-old, who works at the Dyson factory in Malmesbury and drives taxis part time, met Mrs Morgan when he picked her up from her home in Curlew Drive, Cepen Park North last October.

He said they swapped numbers and she moved into his home the following month.

"She told me straight away she had been under treatment for terminal cancer for two years and had lost her hair through chemotherapy," he said. "The last thing I thought was that she was lying.

"She led me to believe she needed a liver transplant by the end of January or she wouldn't be here. When January 31 came she told me she was dying and had two weeks left to live, then a couple of weeks on she only had 48 hours.

"I loved her and thought the world of her. She more or less said she wanted to be at home to die. Obviously I felt sorry for her and tried to make her as happy as I could. I would have done anything for her.

"But she kept living past all the deadlines she set herself and that's when I began to get suspicious."

He said Mrs Morgan told him Macmillan nurses were caring for her while he was out at work, and they wanted her to go into a hospice.

"I called the hospice and they didn't know anything about her," he said. "She gave me various numbers for the nurses but they were all wrong numbers. There were no such people. It was just a big con."

He said they had the same GP, who also told him she did not have cancer, but a bladder infection.

"Every time I tried to get her near a doctor she just went mad it was like she had something to hide. Now I know she had.

"She was a compulsive liar. She came up with a fantastic story and I was nave and gullible enough to believe it all," he said. "It's not just affected me but my family and friends too. I introduced her to my family and they thought she was wonderful."

In February, the father-of-two said he began to have doubts about his finances, and now believes Mrs Morgan pilfered around £2,000 from him.

"I found two cheque books were missing and think she'd helped herself," he said.

"My post was being intercepted while I was out at work and I didn't receive letters from the bank telling me I was overdrawn."

He has complained to Chippenham Police, who are investigating.

"I don't know where she is, but I can't stand her now," said Mr Owen. "I don't believe I will be the last victim. She's a very good actress."