James Morgan agreed to carry out building, landscaping and home improvement works to 10 customers across Norfolk between April 2021 and March 2023.

Norwich Crown Court heard the 39-year-old took £124,000 from the customers in total, but failed to carry out or even start much of the works paid for.

Norwich Crown Court (Image: Peter Walsh, Newsquest)

Laura Phillips, prosecuting on behalf of Norfolk Trading Standards, said Morgan had behaved "aggressively" and "erratically" related to "work not completed or work completed so poorly as to have not been started at all".

Morgan, of Market Place in Harleston, appeared at court on Monday (November 3) after he admitted 10 counts of theft.

James Morgan (Image: Norfolk Constabulary)

In addition he asked for two further offences of theft to be taken into consideration.

Jailing Morgan for a total of four years and four months, Recorder Ruth Brander said: “You held yourself out as a competent builder when you knew full well that was not the case.”

She said: “This was not single one-off offending - it was a pattern of offending that continued over a period of time”

Recorder Brander added “significant planning” had gone into the offending which had caused........

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