Retired teacher blackmailed for TEN YEARS by a former pupil who took £75,000 to feed his heroin habit Graeme Robertshaw swindled money from 83-year-old man from 2002 He threatened to make false allegations the man had abused him as a child Elderly man handed over life savings and took out payday loans to comply A retired teacher was tormented for a decade by a former pupil who fleeced him out of £75,000 over ten years in a blackmail plot. Graeme Robertshaw befriended the victim, a generous 83-year-old, who was then stripped of every penny he had and made to take out high interest payday loans by his tormentor. Newcastle Crown Court heard Robertshaw threatened to tell police he had been abused by the former teacher if he didn't keep the money coming to fund his heroin habit. Graeme Robertshaw (left) and accomplice Kenneth Price (right) were jailed at Newcastle Crown Court after he fleeced an 83-year-old retired teacher out of £75,000 in a 10-year scam The scared pensioner, whose identity was protected by the court, was told sob stories and threatened over 10 years, between 2002 and 2012. The blackmail finally came to an end when neighbours saw Robertshaw and accomplice Kenneth Price threatening the terrified victim in his own home in Blyth, Northumberland. As Robertshaw was jailed for five years , Recorder Andrew Dallas told him: "He was generous towards you and you turned that to your advantage, you turned the screw on him and kept the screw turning for 10 years. You pestered him on the phone, you sent him letters and this was mixed in with aggression, finger jabbing, holding him by the collar and emotional blackmail. The victim was particularly vulnerable, living alone with a limited income on his pension and you systematically milked him of very large sums of money. The court heard Robertshaw had befriended the victim in 2002 when he was 73. Despite the pensioner's generosity and willingness to give him money, Robertshaw began a sinister campaign. At Newcastle Crown Court Graeme Robertshaw was jailed for five years and Kenneth Price was jailed for two years He threatened to tell the police the former teacher had assaulted him unless he gave him more cash. Tim Gittins, prosecuting, said: "The complainant said Robertshaw had attended his home regularly demanding money with the threat he would report and publicise he had been abused. Regular weekly withdrawals of cash had been taken from the man's building society account. It was apparent he had from time-to-time also gone to payday loan companies to top up his pension. A total of £40,000 in cash was handed over to Robertshaw and further money was milked from payday loans and pawnbrokers, bringing the total to at least £75,000. After his savings had disappeared, the pensioner was made to take out loans at extortionate interest rate. He borrowed £739 from the Money Shop and had to pay back £1,899. A further 17 loans were taken out at the Cheque Centre for £5,880 and he had to pay back around £7,500. The decade-long plot finally came to an end in December last year when neighbours rang police after seeing Robertshaw and Price force their way into the victim's home in Blyth. The pair had barged in and were demanding money and Price threatened to burn his house down and made a throat-cutting gesture with his fingers. Police arrived soon afterwards and the pair were arrested. Robertshaw, 40, of Plessey Road, Blyth, pleaded guilty to three counts of blackmail and was jailed for five years. Price, 39, of Claremont Terrace, Newsham, Blyth, admitted one count of blackmail and was locked up for two years. Katie Barnes, for Robertshaw, said: "He made threats when he became desperate for money for drugs." Mark Saunders, for Price, said: "He was involved on one occasion. He was living with Robertshaw at the time but didn't know exactly what had been going on.