A man was revealed how he was left homeless after the woman he thought he’d retire with conned him out of an eye-watering £85,000.

Roderick Lodge, 70, opened up about his horrific experience to hosts Cat Deeley, 48, and Ben Shephard, 50, on Wednesday’s instalment of This Morning. 

He shared how he tragically lost his wife of 25 years and had lived in Kenya on and off since 1991 due to his job with the UN.

Roderick explained: ‘I went back to Kenya as I had lots of friends there and I met this lady and quite quickly we became intimate and I thought she was going to be part of my life.’

Eventually the woman asked if she could put her friend in touch with Roderick and they ‘started to chat every day’.

‘Within three or four months it was going further, even though I hadn’t met her I started thinking of marriage,’ Roderick admitted.

Roderick Lodge (pictured), 70, opened up about his horrific experience to hosts Cat Deeley , 48, and Ben Shephard , 50, on Wednesday’s instalment of This Morning

He shared how he tragically lost his wife of 25 years and had lived in Kenya since 1991 with the UN

Eventually the woman asked if she could put her friend in touch with Roderick and they ‘started to chat every day’. Pictured: Hosts Ben and Cat

However, despite Roderick staying with friends in Kenya, the woman, called Anita, he was speaking to would not come and meet him, despite him ‘sending more and more money’.

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‘The original lady had told me Anita, this lady, she had got a beauty business, had 30 employees, had two cars,’ he explained.

‘She said she had built a house,’ Roderick shared, but needed money to do it up. He admitted: ‘It ended up in total about £85,000.’

Friends had warned Roderick to ‘think about it’ and were concerned.

‘But it wasn’t until May last year that I said ‘enough’,’ he shared. 

‘The last thing was her dad was in hospital and needed cancer treatment, more money.’

When Roderick’s friends checked the hospital there was ‘no such person’.

But by the time Roderick had realised the woman didn’t exist, he didn’t have enough money left to return home. 

However, despite Roderick staying with friends in Kenya, the woman, called Anita, he was speaking to would not come and meet him but he ‘was sending more and more money’

‘She said he had built a house’ Roderick shared but needed money to do it up. He admitted: ‘It ended up in total about £85,000.’

‘I’ve been very lucky with my years in aviation that I have a very good core of friends, and lots of my mates … one very good friend of mine clubbed together with the boys to get me a ticket home,’ he said.

When Roderick arrived in the UK, he found it difficult to get back onto his feet.

‘I went on the streets for two weeks because I couldn’t actually find a location that would allow me to go into the system of being without a house,’ he revealed.

He spent two months in a hostel and explained: ‘I still had to pay but thank God I’ve got a few pensions, but I basically live from month to month.’

Roderick opened an investigation with the Kenyan police but said: ‘The problem with Kenya, it’s a good country but unfortunately you need money to get things done.’

‘We know where the original lady lives. The police warned me not to go there because she could say I was intimidating her and take a case against me.’

The 70-year-old said: ‘I’ve lost my future. I can’t even afford an air fare to Kenya, I wanted to retire there.’

During the conversation, Ben shared that Halifax bank said they questioned the payments Roderick was making on multiple occasions and the legitimacy of Anita.

But by the time Roderick had realised the woman didn’t exist, he didn’t have enough money left to return home

Head of Trading Standards Scam Team Louise Baxter (right) was also on the show and described the situation as ’emotional abuse’

They said they gave guidance on romance scams and spoke to Roderick on multiple occasions, expressing concern about the payments.

Despite the warnings, Roderick explained, ‘because the contact came through the first lady I thought it couldn’t be the case’.

Head of Trading Standards Scam Team Louise Baxter was also on the show and described the situation as ’emotional abuse’.

She said: ‘He was controlled and manipulated. We have to be kinder to victims. The only way we’re going to deal with it is by driving reporting up.’

This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.