Blind elderly man in Penwortham was ripped off by rogue trader who demanded £600 for 20 minutes work

Notorious trader Ben Smith, 29, cold called a blind elderly man, who is decorated with a British Empire Medal for his service to the country, in Penwortham in December 2018.

He failed to provide a cancellation notice to the man and his wife, or disclose details of his name and address, and pressured the couple, aged 81 and 80, into handing over £200 for a job which was not complete.

A concerned eagle eyed neighbour was so worried about what he was witnessing he filmed the workmen - who spent just 20 minutes doing the job - and called round after they had left.

When Smith, of no fixed abode, came back to finish the work the following day, the pensioner warned him that he was being videoed, at which point he pulled up his hood, grabbed his ladders and drove away.

Smith admits two unfair trading offences alleging his failure to provide information which, by law, he was obliged to give to the couple, who are in their 80s.

He already has extensive convictions including similar offences, and is currently in prison on other matters including a previous trading offence where an elderly man was taken to the bank to withdraw money.Preston Crown Court was told in this case, Smith knocked on their door and asked if they remembered him from a previous job.

Prosecuting, Kimberley Obrusik said the couple told him they had problems with their roof and he told them they needed eaves guards at the roof line to guide rainwater into the gutter, at a cost of £150.

Additional work was also agreed, including work to the guttering, but no price was discussed in connection with that element of the job.

Towards the end, Smith presented the pensioners with a hastily written demand for £600. When they refused to pay such a large amount he dropped the price to £500.

But when the elderly man said he was not willing to pay any more until the work was completed, Smith's mood changed and he became more demanding, causing the worried pensioner to hand over another £100.

The workmen packed up and left, even though it was still daylight and the job was unfinished.

All contracts costing more than £42, which are agreed in a consumer's home, have a legally enshrined 14-day cooling-off period to protect consumers being ambushed by traders who turn up unannounced and confuse or bully them into agreeing for expensive or unnecessary work.

Recorder Peter Atherton imposed two months in prison, saying it was a case of "high culpability" which must attract an immediate prison sentence.

He added: "I don't think you should have anything more to do with these victims."

He will serve the term alongside the 43 months he is already serving for burglary, from which he is expected to be released in February 2021.