'Rogue trader' jailed after customers left out of pocket in £15k fraud

A 'rogue trader' who left customers out of pocket in a £15,000 fraud has been jailed. Council bosses in Rochdale - who investigated Christopher Barlow after numerous complaints - said his crimes gave 'trustworthy tradespeople a bad name'.

Barlow, said the council, took thousands of pounds from people for paving and groundwork jobs that were not started or left incomplete.

He used false names and a bank account belonging to a third party in a bid to cover his tracks, said a town hall spokesman in a statement after his conviction and sentence.

Barlow, 37, of Lambley Close in Leigh, Wigan, but previously of Heywood, Rochdale, pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud. Rochdale council said he was jailed for 22 months by a judge sitting at Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday.

In a statement, the council said the prosecution followed a lengthy investigation by its trading standards team, after complaints were received from people targeted across Greater Manchester.

A spokesman said: "The team has seen a 28 per cent increase in rogue trader complaints compared to the previous 12 months and worked tirelessly to put forward a case against Mr Barlow.

"Several people who were targeted all paid deposits for him to carry out paving and ground works at their properties but the work either never started or only a little work was undertaken, leaving them hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds out of pocket.

"As part of the fraud Mr Barlow used false names and also asked customers to pay money into a bank account belonging to a third party. In total, £15,000 was lost by the five consumers."

Coun Liam O'Rourke, the council's portfolio holder for climate change and environment, welcomed the conviction and sentence.

He said: "I am pleased