A ROGUE building has been ordered to pay back more than £70,000 to his victims.

Daniel Collins previously admitted to fraud and unfair trading back in 2016 and received a sentence of three and a half years in prison.

An investigation by the Public Protection Partnership (PPP) resulted in a confiscation hearing against Collins.

He incorporated two companies; Designwise Paving Ltd and Homepride Paving Ltd and between 18 February 2015 and 10 October 2015.

Victims were offered work on their driveways at households across the South East, but once the work started he would inflate his prices to a level that did not reflect the work.

He would also leave the driveways in a poor condition, either by carrying out jobs to a substandard condition, or leaving them incomplete.

Councillor Iain McCracken, chairman of the PPP committee, said: “These were serious offences as illustrated by the immediate three and half year custodial sentence back in 2016.

"The painstaking financial investigation carried out by the PPP has traced the proceeds of those crimes.

"This confiscation irder and default sentence send a clear message that crimes of this nature will not be allowed to go unpunished.”

Considering the case, Judge Notts said that Collins had benefited from his criminal conduct to the amount of £134,414.47.

He was ordered to pay a confiscation order of £95,721 and more than £73,000 of this will be repaid in compensation to six victims who had been conned by Collins into paying for poorly executed work at inflated prices.

Collins, of Bourne Lake Park, Cricklade, Swindon, will have to pay £95,721 in three months or serve a further 15 months imprisonment.