Rogue gardener jailed for defrauding 18 customers

A landscape gardener has been jailed for five years and eight months after defrauding 18 customers out of about £42,000 across three counties.

James Knight, 34, of Verne Road, in Verwood, Dorset, was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday.

The court heard he took large deposits from customers in Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire for landscaping work, then delivered only a fraction of the materials or work agreed, or none at all.

One customer wanting a lawn re-turfed was left with bare soil, while another had what was described as a "bomb site" outside her house.

Knight, who also goes by Jimmy, initially pleaded not guilty to all charges but changed his plea to guilty on all but seven counts on the first day of the trial.

Following a two-week hearing, the judge ruled Knight had been dishonest from the outset.

Knight, who has 77 previous fraud convictions between 2012 and 2020, would ask for extra payments after claiming to have under-quoted, then stop work with excuses including family deaths and childcare problems, the prosecution said.

On more than one occasion he claimed his grandfather had died.

Sentencing him, Judge Mousley said Knight had "an appalling criminal record" and had "no hesitation in extracting as much money from them as possible" from people who trusted him.

He was also handed an eight-year criminal behaviour order banning him from offering trade services at any UK address or advertising for work.

Councillor Matt Bell, Dorset Council's cabinet member for public health, prevention and communities, said the case showed the "real impact rogue traders can have on local people".

The prosecution was brought by Dorset Council's Trading Standards team.