The grieving husband of murdered PCSO Julia James has had his bank account emptied by scammers.

Paul James was targeted by fraudsters who stole money left to him by the much-loved mum, who was brutally killed in April last year.

On Friday, 22-year-old Callum Wheeler was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 37 years behind bars for bludgeoning Julia to death in Snowdown, near Canterbury.

Now it has emerged her heartbroken husband has been conned by ruthless conmen who used a fake parcel delivery message to enable them to get access to his account.

Mr James has issued a warning to others to be vigilant of the "extremely clever" con-artists.

Posting on Facebook, he wrote: "I have been a victim of a scammer that sent a text regarding my parcel... they contacted me and accessed my phone, they changed their number to match the banks details... they have then emptied my bank account they were extremely clever & convincing & had all my information & had also set up a false payment on my account so I was aware to contact the bank about it.

"All I had was money from my beloved Julia James, she was taken from me and now this!!

"Please be vigilant on your phones and what you respond to."

'Parcel scams work by sending a text message to a victim that looks like a genuine text from a legitimate delivery company, such as Royal Mail or DPD.

Following a six-day trial in May, a jury took little more than an hour to convict Wheeler of murdering Julia on a remote footpath near Ackholt Woods.

Fighting back tears outside court following the sentencing, Mr James said: “Now that this guy can’t hurt anyone else is a massive relief for us.

“If that was Julia’s sacrifice, to save other people, then we’re happy.”

Asked how difficult the past 15 months have been, Mr James added: “It literally just ripped us all apart.”

In a statement read at the sentencing hearing, Mr James said his wife’s death had left his life “empty”.

He told the judge: “My hopes and dreams were taken. I truly felt I died too.

“My life has been jolted by the devastation and trauma.

“We went everywhere together. How do I do these things alone?”

“My life is now empty. I want to know why this has happened. I cannot and still do not sleep at night. What do I do without her?”