Cowboy trader is jailed

A rogue trader who pocketed up to £57,000 laying shoddy drives throughout the Black Country was today starting an 18-month jail sentence.

Stacy Handley mainly targeted pensioners who were left distraught after their cars sank into the newly-laid driveways and weeds grew through cracks in the surface.

Hiding behind a false name and a fake firm, father-of-five Handley struck in Wolverhampton, Dudley and Sandwell over 14 months until June this year, despite repeated warnings from Trading Standards that he was breaking the law.

He claimed to be a "specialist" but had no proper training, instead issuing worthless guarantees for the botched jobs.

But his victims, who paid up to £5,500 each for work that was so bad it will have to be ripped up and redone, will not get a penny in compensation after the crook claimed to have spent all of their cash.

Sentencing of the 36-year-old was adjourned yesterday for several hours after a Wolverhampton Crown Court judge ordered a bank book to be collected from the conman's home in Raglan Street, Brierley Hill. It showed only £30 in his account.

Mr Simon Hanns, defending, argued: "He has no money to pay. The money he made from laying drives has been spent on normal household matters. He has not been living a life of luxury."

Recorder Kevin Hegarty told Handley: "The repeated nature of the offences committed through this shoddy work, their value and the length of time they went on for mean there must be a custodial sentence. "There is nothing left from this criminal enterprise because all the money has gone paying out wages and keeping your various children fed and housed.

Therefore there will be no order for you to pay costs or compensation."

Handley admitted 73 offences and asked for 41 others to be taken into consideration involving a total of 27 properties.

Prosecutor Mr Kevin Saunders said the scam admitted by Handley involved around £50,000 worth of work but officials believe he pocketed considerably more than that.

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