A CONMAN from Chester who swindled a couple out of £1,000 for building work he did not start has been jailed.

Jason Neil Mead, 37, of Shelley Road, Blacon, also fraudulently used a card for a roofing firm to purchase power tools he did not have permission to buy.

Mead, who was found guilty of both offences following a trial, was jailed for a total of 28 weeks when he appeared at Chester Magistrates Court on Friday, January 15.

Prosecuting, Debbie Byrne said a couple in Blackpool paid Mead £1,000 up front for "materials and scaffolding" for work to be done on their property while they were on holiday in August 2016.

When they returned, it was clear the work was not going to be started and they requested a refund, which Mead initially agreed to, before making no further contact.

The couple reported the incident to Action Fraud.

Mead claimed there was a non-refundable contact, supplying a screenshot of an email, but this was not signed.

The victims said they felt as if they had been taken for fools and the process of trying to obtain a refund, which had still not been repaid, was "very time consuming".

A couple of years later, Mead was hired to do some emergency works on behalf of Thomas Roofing Limited, after the firm was let down by another contractor.

Mead had been hired through a Yell listing.

He started work for one day but then said his garage had been broken into and required additional tools.

The firm allowed him the use of a card to pay for items such as buckets and trowels at Boys and Boden, while accompanied by a Thomas Roofing Limited worker.

Mead did not finish the work and an investigation revealed the defendant had used the card on numerous other occasions at the store, buying items such as power tools, without the company's permission.

The total amount spent was £3.362.18, which Mead had not repaid.

Mead had 17 previous convictions, the most recent for dishonesty being in 2015, with the majority of offences being motoring ones, including being jailed for disqualified driving in 2019.

The court heard the matters had taken a long time to come to court because of Mead's health.

Defending, Becky Hay said Mead had turned up to court under no illusions of the sentence he could expect.

However, he still maintained he had a non-refundable contract with the Blackpool couple.

He had been an employed plasterer but due to the pandemic, and his health issues, he did not think it wise to be going into people's homes to work.

Mead had expressed a wish to co-operate with the probation service, and it was asked if a custodial sentence could be suspended.

But chair of magistrates James Fawson said Mead had a record of ignoring court orders.

He added these were "two fairly obvious, and in one case, very nasty" fraud offences.

As well as the 28-week prison sentence, Mead must pay a total of £4,362.18 in compensation.

Court costs would not be made due to the need to pay the compensation order.