A DODGY tradesman who fleeced an 81-year-old woman of £1,400 has been ordered to pay back every penny – and more on top after leaving her with an even bigger bill to repair his shoddy work.

Steven Doran was part of a gang that targeted the woman who lived alone at her home in Blackminster, near Evesham, offering to carry out repairs to her roof at inflated prices and putting pressure on her to hand over the cash.

The 23-year-old who lives in a caravan in Farnborough Road, Mollington, admitted fraud before his sentencing hearing at Worcester Crown Court on Monday following the fraud between January 27 and February 1 last year.

The victim would have handed over even more money had the bank not raised concerns, suspecting that the woman was being scammed before refusing to permit the second withdrawal.

Doran was part of a group of three. He knocked on the elderly woman’s door and said work needed doing to the roof, including work on the ridge tiles and because moss had built up in the guttering.

The victim withdrew the £1,400 in cash and paid Doran. However, after starting the cementing they said they could not finish the work that day as they had another job to do said Amanda O'Mara, prosecuting.

When he returned to the woman's home they quoted a further £1,950 for additional work, including putting wood under the tiles, telling her he needed the money that day.

As 'a gesture of good will', Doran said he would take £100 off the total bill said Miss O'Mara.

However, the bank, suspecting a scam, refused to hand over the money to the woman. Police arrested Doran. Another male ran off from the woman's house and only Doran appeared before the judge.

Miss O'Mara said one of the three men was released without further action and the other has never been traced.

Instead of repairing the roof, they had actually caused damage, dislodging a ventilator which would cost £680 to repair, excluding VAT. An expert later said the work they had done would only cost around £855.

In a victim personal statement the injured party said she was stressed about losing money 'which I could not afford to lose'. "I have even had to change my lifestyle to try and raise the funds" she said.

Sharon Bailey, defending, said Doran would not have committed the offence on his own and said the other two males involved were older.

Judge Nicholas Cole said Doran had a leading role, the householder left with the impression ‘that you were the boss’.

He sentenced Doran on the basis that work did need to be done but that he had ‘exaggerated’ his account of the amount of work required.

He said that pressure had been put on the victim to get the cash that day and later when Doran said more work needed to be done.

“There was some value to the work undertaken but there had also been damage through poor and shoddy workmanship. The victim has been left anxious and understandably feels she can longer trust tradesmen,” said the judge.

Doran had six previous convictions for nine offences including theft and going equipped from when he was a youth but had not been before the courts for seven years, the court heard.

The judge, giving Doran full credit for his early guilty plea, went on to say there had been ‘targeting of a vulnerable victim’.

“This was a mean offence. The courts frequently send people to prison who prey on elderly home owners” said the judge.

Doran was sentenced to 27 weeks in prison suspended for a year. The defendant must complete 180 hours of unpaid work and 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

He was also ordered to pay the compensation in full - £2,216 which includes the £1,400 she handed over to Doran and the £680 cost of repairing his shoddy work (plus the VAT).

Because Doran had been paid compensation himself following a car accident, the judge ordered him to pay the full amount within 28 days. Doran was also ordered to pay a contribution towards costs of £160.