A man who dreams of becoming a writer was overjoyed when he was contacted by an agent saying they had offers that would see his work in print – until it lost him his life savings worth almost £13,000. Dave Gregson, from West Yorkshire, is unable to work because he is the primary carer for his elderly parents.

So in his free time, he writes short stories and children’s books, some of which have been published online. When a literary agent contacted him he was over the moon.

He had a phone call…