A woman has been sent to prison after conning her best friend out of her life savings by pretending that she was dying of cancer.

Devious Tracey Pascall told trusting couple Wendy and Andrew Petford that she was dying of lung cancer to avoid paying back £4,500 she had borrowed.

Pascall had befriended Mrs Petford when they both attended teaching training college in the late 90s, and the pair were reunited when Pascall got back in touch via Facebook in February 2011.

Former friends: Tracey Pascall, left, was sentenced to two years in prison after conning best friend Wendy Petford out of £4,500 by pretending she had cancer

Reunited: Pascall and Mrs Petford had met at teacher training college and became reacquainted when Pascall got in touch via Facebook in 2011

After meeting up she asked to borrow money from Mrs Pascall, claiming she was waiting for funds to clear on her account.

To back up her claims Pascall forged letters, claiming she had £54,000 in a Post Office account.

After months of avoiding returning the cash Pascall developed a persistent cough and told the couple, of Telford, Shropshire that she had lung cancer in order to delay their requests for the money.

It was only when Mr Petford went with her to the solicitors that the letters were revealed as fake and the police were called.

Behind bars: Tracey Pascall was sentenced to two years in prison after she admitted 19 dishonesty offences

Pascall appeared at Shrewsbury Crown Court on September 16 this year, when she was sentenced to two years in prison after admitting to 19 dishonesty offences.

It emerged that she had previous convictions for fraud dating back to 1990, including forging cheques from her own daughter.

Speaking after the sentencing, Mrs Petford, 47, said: ‘She said I’d get the money back and I never doubted her for a second.

‘We were very close at college. She called me Blossom and we did everything together.

‘To say she had cancer, that’s lower than low. The only thing that keeps me going is knowing she won’t get to spend Christmas with her grandchildren.’

‘When we were younger we told each other everything and I used to see her every day. We were part of a big group, but we spent a lot of time together.

‘She got back in touch and we went for a drink. Tracey ordered a bottle of champagne. That was her all over – she was always glamorous and I never saw her in the same clothes twice.’

The pair were so close that Mrs Petford didn’t need to think twice about lending her best friend money in May 2011.

‘At first I thought Tracey said £300, but it turned out she said £3,000,’ said Mrs Petford, who added that she had been forced to leave her job due to stress.

‘She told us she was just waiting for some money to clear, and had a letter to prove it. It said she had £54,000 in her account.

Marital strife: Andrew, left, and Wendy Petford had to focus on the wedding of their daughter Michaela, pictured with baby Olivia, to husband James to take their mind off the stress caused by Pascall’s fraud

‘I didn’t think about it at the time, but why did she have the letter with her? Why did she need to prove it?’

At first the couple asked for their money back once a week, but the court was told that Pascall had always had an excuse, along with a letter from the bank or solicitors to prove it.

She was then said to have developed a persistent cough before announcing she was dying from lung cancer, prompting the Petfords to stop pressuring Pascall for the money.

A month later, in November, Mr Petford went to meet Pascall to collect a cheque from the solicitors.

Mrs Petford said: ‘Andrew said he would go with her, not to try and catch her out, just because he thought it would be easier. I didn’t realise until afterwards but she looked panicked.

‘He got there and was told there was no cheque, and when he showed them the letter they said it wasn’t one of theirs.

Happier times: Mrs Petford and Pascall during their time at teacher training college together

Blast from the past: Pascall, left, and Mrs Petford shortly after meeting in the 1990s. Mrs Petford described Pascall as ‘glamourous’ and said she never wore the same clothes twice

‘They had to call the police. Andrew came home and told me. That’s when the realisation hit home. If that letter’s forged, are the others?

‘The next day the police called us and us and asked us to go down. We took all the letters.’

The forgeries were so convincing that even the police were not sure immediately if they were real or not.

Mr and Mrs Petford instead focussed on organising their daughter Michaela’s wedding to take their mind off things.

Mrs Petford said: ‘The wedding was supposed to have been in 2013, but when Michaela sets her mind on something she always wants it done straight away.

‘We had three weeks to prepare the wedding, and without the money it was going to be tough, but we wanted to get through.

‘Originally they were going to deal with it all themselves. They were going to go to a pub for the reception, but it was a very small pub. They wouldn’t even be able to get us all in there.

Convincing: Mrs Petford said that Pascall had shown the couple forged letters from banks and solicitors to back up her claims

‘We decided that because we had nothing but bad luck, hurt and pain that we wanted to do it better than the pub.

‘We scraped together, and although it wasn’t the big wedding she should have had, it was still a wonderful day.’

Michaela married her fiancee James Corfield on December 9, 2011, at The Lord Hill Hotel in Shrewsbury.

After appearing in court, it emerged that Pascall that she had previous convictions for fraud dating back to 1990, including forging cheques from her own daughter.

Mrs Petford said: ‘It makes me so angry – I want her to get the maximum sentence of three years. We’re appealing for her to get longer.

‘It broke me apart. I was off work with depression and had to leave my job. I’m too scared to go outside alone now.

‘She never even said sorry.’
Read more: Daily Mail