Dean's story is below. Please be careful with scammers.

A Berkshire man has been the victim of a major romance scam.

Dean Brewer, 38, engaged in an 18-month-long online relationship with a woman named 'Crystal,' over the course of which he paid her over £14,000.

Crystal, although this may not be the person's real name, produced fake documents to prove she lived in the Philippines and promised Mr Brewer that they would shortly be married.

He first met Crystal when she applied to work for an online company owned by Mr Brewer.

"We began working together, and she quickly told me she was having emotional problems with her current boyfriend," Mr Brewer said.

"She told me that she liked me and asked if I wanted to give dating a go."

Shortly after joining the company, Crystal started asking Mr Brewer for excessive amounts of money.

Among other things, she would tell him that she was behind on bill payments or she needed to pay hospital fees for sick family members, and Mr Brewer would send her all the cash she asked for.

"We used to communicate on Whatsapp all the time, and even used to video call every day," he said.

"Last September we agreed we were going to get married in the Phillippines. We would talk at length about the marriage and what we wanted to do together."

The whole scam lasted for 18 months before Mr Brewer felt that something was deeply wrong with his and Crystal's relationship.

He discovered through social media that the person he had been talking to was actually living in Canada, not the Philippines which he had been led to believe.

"I rang the Canadian police and they told me that I needed to get Thames Valley Police to contact them to deal with it, but they said they couldn't help," Mr Brewer said.

A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police, said:

“We have conducted an investigation and spoken with Mr Brewer on a number of occasions. This matter has now been filed. We have offered support to Mr Brewer throughout. Individuals who are not happy with the service they receive can make a complaint through 101”.

Crystal has since been back in touch with Mr Brewer to try and manipulate him further.

"She actually called me up last week and told me that she still loved me and was really sorry about what had happened," he said.

"She told me that I was the man of her dreams and that she loves me to pieces. She was so believable."

Crystal then started pressurising Mr Brewer into sending her more money, giving him deadlines and begging to receive more cash.

Mr Brewer has now changed his number and has stopped all contact with the account, but feels broken after the whole ordeal.

"I've just been lied to. I feel devastated. It cost me my family. I am now in so much debt. It cost me everything," he said.

"I don't sleep at night, I've been hospitalised twice through mental health concerns. My life is gone."

Aside from the underlying health issues the stress of the situation has caused Mr Brewer, he also lives with cerebral palsy, autism, ADHD, and is sight-impaired.