TWO rogue traders targeted retired and single people and pressured them into having their homes’ driveways relaid.

At Preston Crown Court, they were each given a six months suspended sentence for two years and ordered to pay £4,000 in compensation. The court heard Darryl Kirkbright and Wayne Singleton’s offences were committed between May 2017 and January last year.

The defendants ran a business together, Unique Surfacing and contacted residents in Stephendale Avenue, Bamber Bridge seeking work.

David Traynor, prosecuting, said Kenneth Wignall, 80, who has died, was contacted by Singleton, 54, of Colne, in April 2017. He introduced himself as ‘Stuart’ and asked Mr Wignall if he wanted his drive re-surfacing as it was starting to crumble.

The court heard Mr Wignall asked for previous work details and Singleton gave addresses which turned out to be a lie.

Six weeks later Kirkbright, 53, of Lower Park Road, Barnoldswick, visited Mr Wignall and claimed his father had laid the driveway in 2002. However, Kirkbright’s father died in 1979. Kirkbright offered a ‘special price’ but it was similar to the other customers.

Kirkbright and Mr Wignall agreed for a surface to be laid for £2,000,but Mr Wignall was not told about a 14-day cooling off period and once the defendant started marking up the driveway with spray paint he felt there was ‘no going back’, the court heard.

Mr Wignall was given a handwritten invoice which did not contain details relating to the business other than its name, which broke statutory obligations.

In a statement last year Mr Wignall’s wife, Phyllis, said the driveway was an ‘absolute mess’. She described how weeds were popping through the surface and there were pools of standing water, adding that “the old surface was in a better condition after 15 years than the new one is now.”

The court heard other complainants included Adrienne Sanderson, a retired widow who was contacted in May 2017 by Kirkbright and asked if she remembered him, knowing they had never met.

He offered to replace the driveway for £2,000 at a ‘special price’. The court heard no cancellation rights were given and the victim was given a handwritten invoice with just the business’s name on it.

Mr Traynor said a month later Mrs Sanderson tried to contact Kirkbright several times, unsuccessfully. Similar incidents took place with Elizabeth Coogan, who is retired and lives alone, Alaister Ewen who is retired, and Michael Lavender, also retired.

Miss Coogan and Mr Lavender were both cold-called by Kirkbright, both given no paperwork for the work to be done and the work started almost instantly. Cash was requested, £1,800 and £2,000 respectively, and they were not given cancellation rights.

Mr Traynor said Mr Lavender said: “The standard of the drive is worse than it was before the works.”

Kirkbright has eight previous convictions for 19 offences, which included dishonesty and knowingly making false statements.

Singleton has 10 previous convictions for 20 offences and was fined in 2006 for failing to provide cancellation rights and for failing to provide a business name and address.

James Heyworth, defending Kirkbright, said: “This is not a traditional rogue traders case. It is not accepted the work he took on was substandard.

“These people have got driveways, whether they are any good is not the issue.”

Lee Hughes, defending Singleton, said: “He accepts full responsibility for the offences. He plays the lesser role in these offences.”

Kirkbright pleaded guilty to two counts of misleading action in relation to the special price being given, one count of providing false information in relation to the business address and three counts of misleading action in relation to failing to make aware of the cancellation rights. He was ordered to pay £1,000 to both Miss Coogan and Mr Lavender.

Singleton pleaded guilty to one count of misleading action by providing false addresses of a satisfied customer, three counts of not providing a business address and one count of putting false information on the website. He was ordered to pay £1,000 to both Mrs Wignall and Mrs Sanderson.