A 'BETRAYED' woman was conned by her former flame while he masqueraded as a police officer and left saddled with debt after his web of lies was finally uncovered.

Debra Jeffries racked up more than £25,000 of debt after ex-partner Carl McKno, 39, duped her into believing he was getting a hefty payout after losing his job.

The fraudster later tricked her into thinking he was a Thames Valley Police firearms officer, convincing his victim his wages were going into their joint account.

But instead the criminal ‘fobbed her off’, using her cash to clear his own debts, Oxford Crown Court heard on Thursday.

Abingdon resident Ms Jeffries, 49, only discovered McKno was 'playing her along' when police revealed he had never worked in the force's firearms department.

The mother recalled feeling sick when the news began to sink in, despite initially refusing to believe the shocking revelations.

In a statement read to the court, she said: “The happiness was completely and utterly destroyed in an instant when I received a visit from the police at work.

"It has left me heartbroken and betrayed. I have been left feeling embarrassed and ashamed that I could be taken in and manipulated to believe such a level of lies."

The pair, who met while McKno was a UPS delivery driver, had been in a relationship for almost a year, living together in Ms Jeffries home.

McKno claimed he lost his job after taking time off for stress but his employer had agreed to a £38,000 out-of-court settlement for unfair dismissal.

His victim began spending on her credit card, believing the 'fictitious' payout would clear the bill, prosecutor Alexandra Bull said.

McKno then said he had joined Thames Valley Police on a fast-track basis at its Kidlington headquarters, and returned home to celebrate with a bottle of champagne.

The fraudster, who claimed he left Lancashire Police years before, convinced his partner of the job after scouring the internet for information about the role, the court was told.

During his spate of offending, McKno pretended almost £1,800 missing from one of the couple's accounts had been fraudulently transferred to India, crafting a fake document on his computer.

He also borrowed cash from Ms Jeffries' parents and pinched his partner's TAG Heuer watch, pawning it for £400.

The victim defaulted on her mortgage and missed repayments and chalked up debts and unpaid bills - all while paying for McKno's lifestyle.

McKno faced Judge Maria Lamb for sentence, slumping in the dock and looking miserably to the ground as he was locked up for 20 months.

The judge lambasted the fraudster for claiming he had been battling depression and anxiety since police uncovered his offending, adding: "What you did was a terrible thing to do to another human being, let alone a woman who was in a relationship with you.

"This was an elaborate and sustained deception. You became tangled in a webs of lies that you created. If you had told her the truth at any point, she could have at least taken steps to minimise her loss.

"The shock of your lies and the discovery of the extent of your betrayal have been as damaging to her as the loss of the money that you took."

Defence barrister Gordana Turudija-Austin said McKno did not want his partner to brand him a failure, letting his 'little white lie' snowball out of control.

The father, who has since moved back to his Lancashire home in Lostock Lane, Preston, felt 'almost relieved' when he was outed by police, the barrister claimed.

She said he believes he is in line for a promotion at work and wants to repay his victim, adding: "He thought he would be able to fix everything if he got another job but the reality was he simply could not find a way out and his lies finally caught up with him."

McKno, who had a previous drink-driving conviction, admitted theft, doing an act falsely suggesting you were a police officer, two counts of fraud by false representation, and making or supplying an article in the use of fraud between March and August last year.

A proceeds of crime act hearing to determine how much cash McKno should repay is set for August 3.