A MAN and his young son have been left on the verge of homelessness after falling victim to an internet scam just days after moving 6,500 miles back to the UK from their home in Indonesia.

Richard Collier said he had been left with ‘almost nothing’ after paying £1,000 of his savings for a deposit on a flat in Headington via an advert on the Gumtree website in October.

However, the flat did not exist and the landlord, whom Mr Collier had never met, ‘disappeared’ once the money had been sent.

Since being swindled five weeks ago, the unemployed 70-year-old has been forced to use the remainder of his savings to pay for B&Bs to keep him and his eight-year-old son, Justin, off the streets of Oxford.

He now hopes to highlight the dangers of such websites in the hope of preventing others from making the same mistake.

He said: “We’ve been left with almost nothing.

“My work had finished in Bali, I had enough money to keep me going for a while and so we moved back to the UK.

“I saw the advert on Gumtree for the flat and made the application.

“I was accepted and so I transferred the money via Western Union - the money went to San Antonio in America - but then we heard nothing back.”

Mr Collier had asked for proof of ID from the bogus landlord and received a copy of a passport which turned out to be stolen.

He added: “It was a sense of being absolutely stupid, being completely naive - knowing things like this happen.”

Police are currently investigating, with Mr Collier also reporting the matter to Gumtree and Western Union.

The out-of-work photographer said he was still hoping to find permanent accommodation so he can enrol Justin in school, though because he has been living abroad for the last eight years, he does not qualify for benefits and is not eligible for housing assistance from the council.

He said: “I have just managed to keep enough to keep us in B&Bs with a bit of help from my eldest son who lives in London - but I can’t stretch him much further.

“I went to the council to see if they could find me somewhere to stay but they said they couldn’t help.”

An Oxford City Council spokesman said the family weren’t eligible for help under the 1996 Housing Act and that the case had been referred to social services.

The spokesman added: “We empathise with Mr Collier’s difficult situation but the law ties our hands.”

Mr Collier is however hoping to make a second application for accommodation through the council in the hope of getting permanent accommodation before his funds run out.

However he added: “If I do get out of this I wish I could do something more to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

A spokesperson for Gumtree said: “The site lists prominent safety advice for landlords and prospective tenants alike, and recommends that all landlords meet their potential tenant, carry out thorough checks and ensure that a tenancy agreement is in place."