Two rogue traders from Bournemouth were given suspended sentences for numerous fraud and consumer protection offences on December 6 at Reading Crown Court.

Daniel Fidler, 31, and Aaron Civil, 34, had both pleaded guilty in prior hearings.

Fidler, facing fraud charges, was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment, suspended for two years and ordered to contribute £4,000 to prosecution costs.

Civil, who was charged with consumer protection offences, was given a nine-month sentence, suspended for 18 months.

He is also required to perform 100 hours of unpaid work and attend 20 days of a rehabilitation activity.

These charges followed after Fidler confessed to two counts of fraud under the Fraud Act 2006, while Civil pleaded guilty to two counts under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

Both pleas were given on October 19, 2023.

The case was built upon an investigation by the Shared Trading Standards Service, who was assisted by both the Joint Case Management Unit and West Berkshire Council’s Legal Services.

Key to the prosecution was evidence gathered from two cold calls made by the defendants at a resident's home in West Berkshire.

These visits took place on December 29, 2021, and February 2, 2022.

The case has significant weight as the resident targeted by the defendants was in his mid-80s, thus deemed vulnerable, which was considered a significant factor in the case.

In their first visit, Fidler and Civil falsely claimed that the resident’s drains required repairs costing £3,890.

Following a subsequent visit, they asserted false damp proofing needs, costing the victim £9,650.

Trading Standards consulted experts who declared the work done was entirely unnecessary and poorly executed.

Furthermore, the damp readings provided by the traders were deemed practically impossible to achieve.

The defendant's assertions were thus proven false and the repairs carried out were not up to acceptable standards.

Civil failed to inform the victim about the right to cancel the agreement during both visits adding to his offences.

Fidler had previously been convicted for fraud and consumer offences committed between 2018 and 2020.

This resulted in an immediate 38-month prison sentence, delivered on behalf of Bracknell Forest Council by the Joint Case Management Unit.

Cllr Lee Dillon, Leader of West Berkshire Council and Executive Member with responsibility for Public Protection, responded to the case outcome by saying: "I would like to thank officers for their efforts in achieving this outcome.

"This prosecution shows that we take illegal business activity very seriously and we will not hesitate to take action against fraudsters especially where they deliberately target our more vulnerable residents."