A ROGUE roofer who preyed on vulnerable, elderly people has been jailed for four years.

Robert Hughes ripped off victims for thousands of pounds charging four times the going rate for unnecessary work.

Over a two-year period he withdrew £300,000 paid into his account  by customers, which is still unaccounted for.

A 78-year-old victim paid £36,000 for unnecessary roof repairs, which left the roof in a far worse state than before.

The 25-year-old, who ran a roofing business, was sentenced at Worcester Crown Court for nine counts of fraud against five victims.

He traded under a false false address in Lower Priest Lane, Pershore as R Hughes Roofing. He also gave this as his address in court.

The case against Hughes was taken by Herefordshire Council’s environmental health and trading standards service.

Marc Willimont, Herefordshire Council’s head of development management and regulation, said: "The council has a zero tolerance policy on rogue trading and our trading standards team will work with police colleagues to crack down on anyone preying on vulnerable residents.

"This case clearly demonstrates that the courts also take rogue trading very seriously and this sentence should act as a significant deterrent to others who exploit vulnerable residents."

The court heard Hughes placed  large advertisements in local publications offering fake 50 per cent discounts for roofing work, while falsely claiming to have a "TrustMark accreditation". 

Many people got in touch asking him to fix simple problems such as leaking gutters.

However, once at a property he would falsely claim there were other serious problems which needed urgent attention.

He would then charge up to four times the going rate for unnecessary work.

Hughes always started the proposed urgent repairs immediately, failing to give homeowners the legal 14 day cooling off period or time to obtain a second opinion and quote.

The majority of his victims were vulnerable and elderly .

The trading standards team asked Hughes to compensate his victims but he refused.

Over a two year period, every time a customer paid him, usually via a money transfer, he would immediately withdraw the money in cash.

Trading standards alleged Hughes withdrew £300,000 in cash.

The council’s trading standards team stressed people should not with cold callers on the telephone, via e-mail or at the door.

A number of rogue traders will use flyers and  advertising, so members of the public need to be aware when looking for work to be completed.