Cowboy builder jailed over £16k con

A cowboy builder who conned a Black Country pensioner into spending more than £16,000 of his life savings to pay for unnecessary roof repairs has been jailed for two years.

David Lutwyche, aged 28, had already admitted conspiracy to defraud 64-year-old Arthur Bird, of Farm Road, Oldbury, when he appeared in court yesterday.

The defendant was part of a gang of three who swindled £16,635 from the disabled pensioner after carrying out substandard work on his bathroom and kitchen roofs in August 2007.

Mr Mark Jackson, prosecuting, said a man calling himself Martin had convinced Mr Bird to have the work done.

Lutwyche then turned up a day later with a tool bag and ladder to replace roof tiles and fascias.

Mr Bird received a call from 'Martin' asking him to give the cowboy roofer a cheque for £5,600 which was cashed the same day in Lutwyche's bank account.

The pensioner paid two more cheques following further visits by the conman but began to notice signs of shoddy workmanship.

The court heard how unqualified Lutwyche, of Slough, Berkshire, left a pile of debris on Mr Bird's lawn after he stripped the slates from the roof but never returned.

Mr Jackson said: "The kitchen roof repairs were dangerous and abysmal. The money taken represents three quarters of Mr Bird's life savings." The trusting pensioner later had to fork out an extra £700 for a proper job to be done.

Miss Jennifer Josephs, defending, said father-of-one Lutwyche was not the organiser of the scam and had only received £280 wages from the other two men. "He was their tool," she said.

Recorder Mr Jonathan Gosling, at Wolverhampton Crown Court, sitting at the Waterfront, Dudley, branded the crime as "despicable"

Lutwyche was traced through his bank account used to cash the cheques. The other two men involved remain at large.