Rogue trader made £10k out of 'entirely worthless' work

A man who scammed householders out of thousands of pounds by carrying out "entirely worthless" roofing and landscaping work has been sentenced.

John Collins, from Manchester, picked up clients online under a number of false trading names and was paid more than £10,000 for jobs at four homes in Chorley and Greater Manchester between August 2024 and April 2025.

An investigation by Lancashire County Council found "every element" of the work was either unfinished or not even started, with each of his victims left facing further bills to get the jobs finished.

He pleaded guilty to four charges of fraud and was handed an 18-month suspended sentence at Preston Crown Court.

Collins was also banned from carrying out work on any homes until 2029 as part of a three-year Criminal Behaviour Order when he was sentenced on 24 March.

The council's trading standards team investigated Collins and found he had failed to carry out work or had done "incomplete, substandard or misdescribed jobs".

Under the false names of Chris Taylor, Ryan Taylor and John Wilkinson, and business names Ideal Landscapers, New Age Roofing Specialists and Greenacre Landscape Services, he had sought work through online platforms, the court heard.

He was paid to fix a leak and carry out roofing work in Chorley, charging £1,400. A surveyor who was asked to look at the work by council officers found it was "entirely worthless".

The court heard Collins would not return once he had received initial payments for landscaping materials and after initial clearing work had begun. In total, he received about £10,600 for unfinished work.

Paul Noone, head of trading standards at the council, said Collins had "failed to carry out work or carried out poor-quality work, whilst gaining substantial amounts of money paid upfront".

He added: "Thanks to the efforts of our officers, he's now banned from carrying on with his fraudulent work."

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