A suspended Helston police officer could be spending his last Christmas as a free man for a while after admitting conning women out of tens of thousands of pounds.

Having previously indicated he would plead not guilty when he first faced a range of charges, including fraud, back in February this year, last Friday Christopher Higgs appeared before Plymouth Crown Court to plead guilty to 15 offences.

His defence lawyer, Robert Linford, acknowledged that the 30-year-old was aware he was facing a sentence “measured in years rather than months.”

It is after Higgs, of Flora Gardens in Helston, admitted 13 offences of fraud by false representation between 2009 and 2012, with sums ranging from £200 to £13,237.

Higgs claimed to his victims that the money was needed to pay bills, his rent and to meet a car loan, but in fact he was funding a gambling addiction.

He also admitted trying to blackmail one of his victims, threatening his landlady so that she should not pursue him for the money he owed in rent. What he did not know at the time was that the conversation had been secretly recorded in a car park in Porthleven.

Higgs’ final guilty plea was to attempting to pervert the course of justice by trying to persuade another of his victims to lie to the police. He wanted her to give false evidence by claiming he did not owe her a debt.

No pleas were taken on nine other offences faced by Higgs, including theft and sexual assault. Defence lawyer Mr Linford said they would not go to trial.

Judge Paul Darlow granted Higgs bail until his sentencing, which would take place on a date still to be fixed, in January or February next year.

Mr Linford, speaking on behalf of Higgs, told the court that Higgs had a very young child and was seeking counselling for his gambling addiction. He said Higgs had offered to resign from the force.

However, Ian Dixey, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said having been suspended on pay until the date of that court hearing, these pleas meant Higgs would now “take measures to terminate his employment.”

A police spokesperson said: "Christopher Higgs, a police officer with Devon and Cornwall Police, is currently suspended from duty and is subject to an internal disciplinary process which will conclude at the end of the legal process.”