THIS is Scott Mitchell – wanted in connection with a scam which conned two Oxfordshire pensioners out of a staggering £830,000.

Police last night asked our readers to help trace the 39-year-old who has avoided capture for the past five months.

Detectives said Mitchell was wanted in connection with a scam on an 83-year-old man in Woodstock who handed out more than half a million pounds from his savings for minor roofing repairs.

A trading standards surveyor has reviewed all the work carried out at the house and estimated the total value to be a mere £10,000.

Police also want to speak to Mitchell in connection with a similar scam on an 84-year-old woman in North Oxford.

The pensioner, who now lives in a care home, paid out about £330,000 for minor repairs to her house.

Police and Oxfordshire County Council Trading Standards officers have been searching for Mitchell since July.

But despite at least five house searches across Oxfordshire and Leicester, he has not be found.

He is believed to have close ties to The Beeches caravan site, near Chipping Norton, and also uses the aliases Scott Jackson and Scott Wilson.

Det Insp Simon Morton, of Oxford CID, said: “We have released a photo of a man we would like to speak to in connection with two large cases of fraud, which we believe may be the largest of their kind in Oxfordshire on vulnerable and elderly victims.

“We believe that Scott Mitchell could still be in the Oxfordshire area, although he does have connections in Leicester.

“Mitchell also uses the names Scott Jackson and Scott Wilson. We wish to speak to him and urge him to come forward.

“If you recognise the photograph, or know where he is living, where he slept last night, or where we can find him, then contact police immediately as it is vital we speak to him.”

In both cases trading standards officers and police are investigating allegations that work was either shoddy or not carried out at all.

It is also thought the pensioners were victims of cold calls.

A warrant has been outstanding for Mitchell’s arrest since July 2. He is wanted in connection with a fraud in Oxford Road, Woodstock, between October 1 2005 and October 13 2008, in which the 83-year-old victim paid in excess of £500,000 after workmen claimed his home needed asbestos sheets removed from the roof.

The homeowner did not want to comment last night, but was glad police were still investigating the alleged fraud.

Police are also searching for Mitchell in connection with a scam on an 84-year-old woman at her house in Apsley Road, North Oxford, between March 11 2004 and April 21 2005.

Minor work on the house included repointing around the chimney and windows, edging on the driveway and laying patio slabs in the garden.

The pensioner paid £330,000 for what police described as ‘negligible building work’. She no longer lives alone and is now being looked after at a local care home.

Anyone with information about Mitchell’s whereabouts should contact police immediately on 08458 505505 or speak anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111