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Sebastian Astbury has posed as an MI5 agent, a banker, a Lord, Royal Navy officer, property developer, shipping magnate and a wine maker to scam victims.

The fantasist – who has 66 previous convictions for fraud – cheated his latest prey just months after being released from prison for a previous con.

Astbury set up New Forest Landscape and Design before swindling £3,000 out of David Russell last July.

After taking the money up-front “for materials” Astbury, whose real name is Andrew Penfold, but has also been called Zac Langley, vanished and ignored calls from his “client,” Bournemouth Crown Court was told.

As the 44-year-old was jailed for two and a half years for fraud and breaching a serious crime prevention order, Mr Russell said: “I really can’t grasp how Astbury can continually defraud people when he is known to the police and must surely know he will be caught.”

“What drives him to do this? Prison food?”

One of Astbury’s previous victims was a woman he met on a dating website.

She and her mother handed over £100,000 after he pretended to be a Royal Marine officer.

Neil Hinton, mitigating, described his client as a “charismatic and persuasive” man who gets “carried away” with compulsive spending sprees.

Astbury, who admitted the charge of fraud, was also ordered to pay £1,500 in compensation to Mr Russell.

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