A Suffolk hairdressing salon owner gave hundreds of pounds to an alleged conman she met on a dating website after he offered to help her with her financial affairs, a court has heard.

Tessa Ward, who has a salon in Carlton Colville, told a jury at a Ipswich Crown Court that she met Elvis Fair on Zoosk in January 2015 and after exchanging messages with him they had met up in Woodbridge.

During that meeting, she told him about her financial worries, including her concern about paying the mortgage on a property in Spain since splitting up with her husband.

Fair allegedly told her he had an idea which would get her out of the situation and during the next few weeks she claimed she had given him money to pay solicitor’s fees, land registry fees, court charges and translation fees.

She said Fair had also invited her to go to Paris with him for Valentine’s day and had asked her to pay £60 for insurance.

She had also given him money for petrol after he claimed to have lost his wallet on the day they were meant to be travelling to Paris. Ms Ward said Fair had then sent her a message postponing the trip because he was worried about his wallet and she had not seen him since.

She claimed she had given Fair a total of £780 but had never had any contact with the solicitor he claimed to have been dealing with.

She said Fair told her he had property in Chelsea, that he lived in Woodbridge and had a business in Ipswich.

He also allegedly said he serviced helicopters for the Queen and had been in the RAF.

Fair, 52, of Thurman’s Lane, Trimley St Mary, has denied five charges fraud by false representation between 2011-2015.

It is claimed he met the alleged victims of the frauds on dating websites and kept money they gave him for a holiday in Hawaii, a helicopter lesson, repairs to a car and changing the deeds on a Spanish property.

Fair is representing himself during the trial which continues tomorrow.