A GANG of conmen who fleeced pensioners out of their life savings in a £1 million fraud were condemned by a judge as "heartless" as they were all jailed.

The conmen posed as police officers to dupe elderly victims in Dorset, among other counties in the south, into handing over money, which was then spent on foreign holidays, designer clothes and even funding someone to travel to Syria.

Many of the victims, aged in their 70s, 80s, and 90s, were left nearly penniless by the scam in 2014 and 2015, and some have died before seeing justice done.

Sentencing the London-based gang, which includes former X Factor contestant Nathan Fagan-Gayle, Judge Anujar Dhir said victims were left "shattered" by the crime.

Bournemouth Echo:

Nathan Fagan-Gayle

She said: "You all played a part in a fraud that targeted elderly, vulnerable victims. The youngest of the identified victims was 63 years old. Most of them were in their 80s. The oldest was 94 years old.

"It was a heartless plan with a devastating and lasting impact on the victims.

"You fleeced your victims of large sums of money. For some of them it was their life savings.

"But their loss was more than that. They lost confidence in their own ability to look after themselves and their own affairs and this contributed to the distress and misery which your victims have endured for the last two years."

Bournemouth Echo:

Shakaria Aden

The Old Bailey judge paid tribute to the victims and said the gang of eight men had shown no remorse for their crimes.

She said: "Having heard some of the victims give evidence in the trial, it is clear to me that they were left completely shattered by your actions and the effect of it will last until the end of their lives.

"I was struck by their dignity and their courage when giving evidence about a matter that was so obviously painful for them to relive."

She added: "None of you has shown any remorse. None of you has done anything to return any of the money you stole. None of you has had the decency to explain what happened to the money."

Among the 140 or so identified victims was Barbara Davidson, 86, from Poole, who had £14,000 stolen from her.

She had been planning to use the money to visit her family in South Africa, but now fears she will never see her relatives again before she dies.

Another Poole woman, aged 76, was defrauded of more than £135,000.

Fagan-Gayle, 29, of Tower Hamlets, was jailed for 20 months.

"Key player" Makhzhumi Abukar, 24, of Holloway, was jailed for seven years and four months.

Yasser Abukar, 24, of Holloway, was jailed for six years.

Shakaria Aden, 22, of Stoke Newington, a "prolific cash collector" who picked up £154,000, was jailed for six and a half years.

Ahmed Abdulaziz Ahmed, 23, of Holloway, was jailed for four years and two months.

Mohamed Dahir, 23, of Finsbury Park, who received a letter from Jeremy Corbyn in support of his bail application last May, was jailed for 21 months.

Fahim Islam, 21, of Stepney, was jailed for six years and three months for his role in this and a "strikingly similar" fraud also targeting pensioners.

Anrul Islam, 24, from Dagenham, was jailed for 16 months for this and a student loan fraud.