Hi, I'm Francis Rossi and I'll headline your festival in style!

This was the promise made to a former Dover town councillor by a conman posing as the Status Quo legend.

The man told 67-year-old Vic Matcham of River, near Dover, he would give a spectacular performance to end the Festival of Dover.

Not only that, he would bring along his friends Brian May of Queen and Paul McCartney to support him at the show.

It gets better. He called himself 'Graham' claiming it was an alias to remain incognito, allowed himself to be wined and dined for six months and even claimed his poor guitar skills were a result of his 'arthritis'!

Mr Matcham said: "We got to know each other very well over the course of six months and I was completely taken in.

"When I saw him play guitar, I thought he was not very good, but he told me it was because of his arthritis.

"I got suspicious because he was with me at times when Status Quo were playing concerts, but he told me they have stand-ins because the band must play and he had a big operation on his shoulder coming up.

"When I found out I was angry but I did see the funny side. I do not meet him anymore but if I saw him I would not be angry. He was wrong but he was a character."

Dover town council’s clerk Mike Webb said: "He did not go undetected. The very first time he was seen with the council it was obvious he was not who he said he was.

"No council money has ever been spent on the man and neither has any mayoral allowance."

'Graham' is now understood to have fled the town.

• For more news from Dover and Deal visit eastkentmercury.co.uk >>>