'Devious' mum lied about cancer to swindle lovestruck bridesmaid out of £117,000

A 'devious' lied to her best friend and bridesmaid for years to con out of her more than £100,000.

Anna Bonner asked Susan Hughes for vast sums of money to support a sick friend's cancer treatment, the Echo reports. But the cash was actually being used to support Bonner's own lifestyle, a court heard.

The 40-year-old, from Liscard, in Merseyside even encouraged a crush Ms Hughes had on the man, who she only met a few times, getting her to write letters and send gifts that she believed were going to him but were actually being stolen by Bonner.

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A judge at Liverpool Crown Court labelled the mum-of-three "greedy, devious and manipulative" as she jailed her this morning after she pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation. Charlotte Atherton, prosecuting, said Bonner and Ms Hughes became friends in 1999 after meeting through their jobs at a care home in Heswall.

She said they quickly formed a close bond, going on holidays together and even living together for a period. Bonner even had Hughes as her chief bridesmaid at her wedding and the two regularly went on nights out in New Brighton together. It was one of these nights out that provided Bonner with the basis for a fraud which ended up lasting for years.

The two women would frequently go to RJ's, a club in New Brighton, and Ms Hughes would speak to a bouncer who she was romantically interested in there. Bonner told her he was her uncle and, in 2015, told Ms Hughes that he had gone to prison and was being tormented for the clothes he was wearing. She asked Ms Hughes for some money to help him, which Ms Hughes provided.

Her lies snowballed as she later told