“Builders” jailed after vulnerable pensioner “hoodwinked and browbeaten”

Patrick Maughan (29), of Deacon Street in Swindon, Wiltshire, and Simon Collins (30), of Molineaux Road, Shiregreen, appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to fraud at an earlier hearing.

Both men were jailed for three years.

A South Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said police were called in July 2014 to a bank in Darnall following concerns from staff that an elderly man was making requests to withdraw a large sum of money.

Enquiries revealed the 84 year-old man, who was described as “in poor health and vulnerable”, had been approached several days earlier by two people in a van offering to do some work on the driveway of his home in High Street, Laughton.

He was told the work would cost around £1,400.

The victim also said the two or three men returned to his home in the same van, stating the price of repairs had gone up significantly and they would require payment upfront for a JCB and a skip.

The men took the elderly man to his local bank in Dinnington in their van and demanded he withdraw around £2,500 from his account.

Bank staff refused to issue the money, so the man was taken to another bank in Rotherham, where he was again pressured to withdraw around £2,500.

This time the money was released and the elderly man was taken to a further bank in Darnall where again, demands were made for further sums of money to be withdrawn.

Bank staff in Darnall grew suspicious and called police, at which point the men drove off. At each bank, the men waited outside in a bid to avoid detection.

Investigating officer, Inspector Steven Brookes, said: “This was a calculated and extremely well-planned attack by organised thieves on a vulnerable member of the community, who was hoodwinked and browbeaten out of a large proportion of his savings.

“When we arrived at the man’s home and our investigation began, it was immediately clear that no work needed to be done to the property and this group had taken advantage of an elderly man’s vulnerability for financial gain.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the bank staff who acted quickly to report this to police and in doing so, safeguarded this victim’s financial assets and his own personal wellbeing.

“Protecting vulnerable persons in the community is, and will remain, a top priority for South Yorkshire Police and I am delighted that these offenders have been brought to justice.”