​Wronged woman Christine Handy didn’t stop to wallow in her misery and the remnants of her shattered life when she was targeted by conman Mark Hatton – she opted for revenge.

Hatton had disappeared after a member of his family told Christine he was not an heir of the de Rothschild dynasty as he claimed, and she had challenged him.

He spent her money then left her distraught and almost penniless – and abandoned his child in November 2006.

But the 43-year old divorcee mounted a worldwide campaign to track down Hatton.

Resourceful Christine set up a website called www.youbetrayedme.com

She wanted to warn other women he might yet dupe them and the site outlined her story, along with a photograph of Hatton.

Following up a chain of emails and hiring a private detective, she pursued him.

She hunted him down in New York State, America, in a town called White Plains – ironically, its motto is Semper Fidelis – always faithful.

She discovered he was back to his old tricks, living with a wealthy American divorcee in her £1 million mansion.

With a population of around 60,000, White Plains is a bustling metropolis compared to Cirencester.

The satellite city has developed outside New York and on a typical week day, its population booms to 250,000.

In early 2000 the massive City Center White Plains complex was built, featuring apartments and condominium towers, followed by Renaissance Square, with an influx of hotels.

Eighteen months later, Christine again came face-to-face with Hatton outside a private gym.

He was wearing garish pink shorts and a white T-shirt.

She said: “He was surprised to see me. He puffed out his chest and said ‘Don’t do this to me Chrissie’.”

Christine presented him with bankruptcy papers.

At the time she said: “I never thought I’d see him again.

“Now I won’t rest until he’s back in Britain behind bars, where he belongs.” Police issued an international warrant for Hatton’s arrest and he was held by the US immigration service for not having a visa.

Speaking then, Christine said: “People will rightly say I must have been mad, but all the time I believed I was genuinely helping him and investing in our future.

“He’s taken my life, my future and reduced my options but by exposing my life I hope I can make sure other women are not caught.”

A bankruptcy order was made against Hatton on July 4, 2007 and he was extradited to the UK the next year.

He was arrested on suspicion of fraud on April 26, 2008 and finally stood trial in 2010.