A gang of rogue traders who swindled a pensioner out of £36,000 and left his beloved garden in a ‘terrible mess’ have been jailed.

Career criminals Scott Cochrane, 35, and Daniel Coker, 39, alongside Aaron Frigot, 27 and Penny Jayne Barney, 57, were all sentenced for their role in their scheme.

Cochrane, Coker and Figot cold-called at the victim’s home in November 2022 and offered to trim his hedges.

The victim said a man called ‘Dan’ approached him at the home and subsequently charged him a whopping £1,600 for their minimal work.

They returned on subsequent days, using misleading and aggressive tactics to encourage the victim to pay for more work.

They first claimed a number of trees on his land were diseased and needed felling.

The group needlessly chopped down five mature trees, reduced the height of a sycamore from 60ft to 15ft and halved the height of a conifer to 30ft.

The gang left 70 per cent of the cuttings and debris behind and left the garden in a ‘terrible mess.’

The victim made a series of cash and cheque payments to the trio totalling £36,600.

The matter was later reported to Dorset Council’s Trading Standards department.

They instructed the local authority’s tree expert to examine the work and he found the total value of legitimate work carried out was £3,500 – more than ten times less than the amount charged.

The expert found that while some of the trees appeared to be suffering from fungal infection, none appeared to be in need of urgent attention on safety grounds.

A Trading Standards financial investigator traced the cheques through multiple bank accounts and identified Cochrane and Coker as the principal offenders.

The pair were later positively identified by the victim in an identity parade.  

In his victim impact statement read to Bournemouth Crown Court, the victim said: ‘It has been two years since the men targeted me and I still remember those two weeks very well, and parts of it still haunt me.

‘The actions of Daniel Coker, Scott Cochrane and Aaron Frigot have had a distinct impact on my quality of life.

‘These men left my garden in a terrible mess. I am still concerned about the state of it today.

‘Every morning when I wake up, I think of what these men did and just hope that nothing similar ever happens to me or anyone like me again, and I am fearful of being targeted again.’

The investigation found the money was laundered through third-party accounts.

Frigot, 27, banked a £25,000 cheque from the victim and transferred most of the funds to Coker and to Cochrane via a woman called Penny Barney, 57.

A spokesperson for Trading Standards said the ‘layering’ of funds is a hallmark of money laundering designed to conceal criminal property.

Judge Jonathan Fuller KC jailed Coker to six years and seven months and Cochrane to three years and seven months.

Barney and Frigot were given 12-month suspended prison sentences.

Gill Taylor, Dorset Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Housing (including Trading Standards), said: ‘Our Trading Standards team will rigorously investigate offenders who prey on the elderly and vulnerable residents of Dorset. 

‘When traders are found to be breaking the law robust action will be taken against them.

‘Never agree to work from unexpected doorstep callers. Always get written quotes and cancellation rights before work starts, and don’t be pressured by claims of immediate safety risks – seek a second opinion. 

‘Avoid making large cash payments and use traceable methods instead.’