AN ELDERLY woman had to borrow money for her husband's funeral after paying almost £5,000 to a 'cowboy builder'.

James Dolan was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Tuesday after admitting two counts of fraud and two counts of money laundering.

It related to a series of work carried out on an 82-year-old woman's house in Sorrel Mead in Bicester, starting in August 2017.

The court heard how she had sought help from a trusted builder about a leak in her roof, but he was unable to take on the work and referred the job to Dolan.

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Dolan, 56, quoted £500 to fix the roof and returned days later with another man.

He later told her the gullies also needed sealing, the chimney was loose and dangerous, and tiles needed to be secured.

Prosecuting, Duncan Milne said: "He told her a story about how someone else's had fallen off and nearly killed them.

"She thought that story was made up to scare her, and she felt pressured to agree to further work."

The court heard how he asked her to make out a new cheque for £1,550 to cover the additional work as well as the original job, and said he would rip up the original cheque for £500.

Dolan, of Broach Road in Stourport-on-Severn, cashed both of the cheques into his account.

He later offered to do other work including cleaning and painting her driveway, and in total for all of the jobs, she paid him £4,750.

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Mr Milne said the cheques related to different accounts 'because she was short of money'.

She did not raise concerns with her family as her husband was ill and she did not want to give them further cause to worry, the court heard. 

In a statement read to the court, the victim said: "The leak in the roof was never fixed, I had to buy sealant to fix it myself.

"I can't trust any builders or construction workers, I feel I've lost my faith in human nature.

"I was unable to pay for my husband's funeral and had to borrow money from one of my son's."

She said she takes her mobile phone to bed as she has become so frightened, and has placed bells on the letterbox and doors in case of any intruders.

She added: "I don't feel comfortable in my house anymore."

Mr Milne said the victim's husband died in late 2017 and after that, she noticed black silt falling from the roof onto her driveway and that the roof was still leaking.

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After notifying Dolan, the court heard, he simply swept the silt away and said it must have fallen due to a 'cat scratching the roof'.

Suspicious, the victim got back in touch with the original builder who introduced the pair, and also went to Trading Standards.

Dolan initially told police it was his son's business, the court heard.

He defended the quality of the work and described the job as 'perfect'.

Trading Standards got an expert to inspect the work, who concluded that the original leak remained and the rest was 'so badly executed it had no value'.

Mr Milne said: "The value of the work done was nil.

"If the work had been carried out professionally, it should have cost just under £3,000 plus VAT."

A chimney expert said the issue there was not urgent as Dolan has made out, and 'could have been ignored for quite some time'.

The court heard how Dolan had 15 convictions for 23 offences, which were 'very much historic'.

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Defending, Helen Lavery said Dolan had suffered ill health both physically and mentally, and was in receipt of benefits due to being unfit to work.

She said: "He has expressed remorse and is keen to make amends to the victim.

"He is mentally fragile and potentially his mental health could decline were he to be remanded.

"He has had a series of strokes over the past few years - he is an elderly gentleman who is very fragile."

Sentencing, Judge Nigel Daly said: "Cowboy builders ripping off the elderly causes enormous distress.

"These are nasty offences."

However, he agreed that it was unlikely Dolan would re-offend and that immediate custody would not be the most suitable of options given his health.

He sentenced Dolan to 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months.

This means he will not be jailed unless he offends within that period.

He must also complete 40 days of rehabilitation activity requirement and pay the victim £1,000 of compensation over a two-year period.