Dishonest plumber sent to prison

Gary Seabrook admitted six counts of deception

A rogue plumber who charged thousands of pounds to unblock a drain and a toilet has been jailed for two-and-a-half years for deception.

Gary Seabrook, 41, of Beecholme Drive, Ashford, Kent, was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on Friday.

Sentencing him, Judge Anthony Scott Gall said the public needed protection from dishonest, rogue tradesmen.

Seabrook had admitted six counts of obtaining money by deception at an earlier hearing.

One of his victims was an elderly woman from Bexhill, East Sussex, who paid him £5,255 for seven hours work to unblock a drain at her home.

Wendy Burbidge was conned out of more than £5,000

Wendy Burbidge, 73, was charged £180 an hour and for equipment that was never used after calling out the plumber in July 2002.

The father-of-three even drove her to the bank to withdraw her pension to pay the bill, which an expert surveyor said should have cost £611.

Miss Burbidge died about a year later, with her family saying the incident had been a contributory factor.

Another victim, Karen Jonckheere, who lives in Flimwell, East Sussex, called out Seabrook when her toilet became blocked by a toilet freshener in June 2003.

She was charged £425 for every quarter of an hour's work, with the final bill coming to more than £2,200 after she also asked for a new bath tap to be fitted.

Deterrent sentence

Aidan Fleming, defending, told Lewes Crown Court on Friday that Seabrook knew that what he had done had been "disgraceful".

"However, he is not a monster," he said.

He explained the defendant had been going through a rocky patch in his marriage and had failed to resist the temptation to overcharge.

Jailing him, Judge Anthony Scott Gall said his sentence was not only to punish him, but to deter others from "preying on the elderly, vulnerable and ignorant".

"When a tradesman with a big smile and an engaging personality arrives at the door and proceeds to grossly rip-off the occupant, a signal must be sent to anyone else who commits that offence in this county that that person will go to prison," he said.

He described the deception on Miss Burbidge as "a grubby little confidence trick, and one of naked greed to make a very dishonest buck".