A PENSIONER who had his wallet stolen by a 24-year-old call girl he met regularly for drinks said this week: "I didn't know she was a prostitute. I honestly thought she was my friend."

Recently retired rubber-cutter Tom Hibbert, 65, was due to quit work with a redundancy package in one month when the two went out together.

Self-confessed Hurdsfield call girl Imogen Porter picked his pocket and fled with his wallet containing £280 and his bank card.

The balding divorcee was left penniless in the street. He said: "It's a good job I had my bus pass on me, or I wouldn't have been able to get home."

Mr Hibbert, who lives with his three bachelor brothers in Bollington, tried to pursue her. "I ran so far, but she was running so quickly," he said. "There was no way I could have caught her. Not at my age."

The astonishing story of the pensioner and the prostitute emerged last week when Porter, of Brocklehurst Avenue, Hurdsfield, denied theft when she appeared at Macclesfield magistrates court. She blamed a call girl friend who she claimed took the cash and ran.

And she insisted she fled because she felt she shouldn't stick around.

"Tom was drunk and I was trying to get him on the bus," she told the court. "My so-called friend came up behind him and took the wallet. I didn't take it.

"I ran away because I'm a prostitute. I can't just stand there and wait for the police to come. I tried to get the money back."

But the case was found proved. Porter was returned to prison where she is currently on remand after being convicted for robbery. She will be sentenced at Chester Crown Court for both at a later date.

After the case, Mr Hibbert, whose most recent partner, Delia, died in 2005 from a heart attack, now realises the girl he knew for just six weeks was a gold digger and a prostitute.

He said wistfully: "She was just using me for my money. It's going to be a while before I jump in at the deep end again. But I'm not going to let it stop me meeting someone else. Hopefully I'll meet a nice woman and invite her for a drink."

Unfortunately, magistrates heard, that is what happened when the former lathe worker at Millennium Rubber in Pott Shrigley, bumped into Porter outside the Tesco as she tried to scrounge cash off him.

They went for meals and drinks together and he loaned her money as their friendship developed.

Porter, a self-confessed crack cocaine user, sobbed in court, but the bench was not moved.

Chairman Virginia Platt, told her: "We do not give any weight to your evidence."

Porter, who admitted smoking crack cocaine on the night of the offence, said: "I would not drag this man into court if I'd done something like this. I'm sorry he's distressed."

As he left the court Mr Hibbert said: "I thought she was a genuine girl and she wasn't.

"She would have a drink and as soon as she got the money she would go. I thought it was for travelling and petrol, things like that.

"I didn't know she was a prostitute or taking drugs."