Twin sisters extorted more than €8,000 from a deaf man by leading him to believe that one of them wanted to marry him.

The sisters, who were minors at the time, duped the man into thinking they were in love with him.

In return for their attention, they asked him for money to do their hair and nails and buy clothes.

The pair were yesterday given a suspended jail term and ordered to repay the man as the magistrate accused them of “manipulative” “exploitative” behaviour.

Their first encounter was at a bar in Paceville in 2007 when the twins were just 17 and the man tried to chat them up. They ignored him, left the bar and caught a taxi home.

The following weekend their paths crossed again but this time they spoke to the man when he approached them.

Over time, these encounters developed into situations where “the two girls willingly accepted his compliments,” the court said.

The man also started paying particular attention to one sister who often told him she needed money.

He started withdrawing cash from his bank account and passing it on to them in an envelope.

Both sisters sent him text messages, leading him to believe that one of them would marry him.

However, in court the twins said they considered the money as “gifts” and denied ever making any outright requests. One sister told the police: “He used to tell us: love me and I will love you. We used to tell him we loved him.”

Magistrate Marseann Farrugia noted that their “on-off relationship”, which spanned five months, took “an exploitative” turn as the twins led him to believe that one of them was ready to marry him to keep the money coming.

The sisters “manipulated” the relationship into one that revolved around money.

The court ordered the twins to repay their victim the sum of €8,467 and jailed them for two years, suspended for four.