Plumber pleads guilty to deception

Gary Seabrook pleaded guilty to six counts of deception

A plumber who charged a disabled pensioner more than £5,000 to unblock a drain has been told he may go to jail.

Gary Seabrook, 41, of Beecholme Drive in Ashford, Kent, pleaded guilty to six counts of deception, at Eastbourne Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

The court heard how in July 2002, Seabrook drove Wendy Burbidge, 73, from Bexhill, to the bank where she withdrew three weeks' pension to pay for parts.

She finally paid him £5,255 for two days' work. He will be sentenced later.

'Contributed to death'

The court heard how Seabrook told Mrs Burbidge her pipes had been damaged by tree roots and would have to be repaired.

East Sussex Trading Standards carried out a CCTV survey of the drain and found no root damage or any evidence the pipe had been dug up or repaired.

Mrs Burbidge's relatives said they believed the incident had caused her health to deteriorate and had contributed to her death.

Her cousin Brenda Soanes said: "It certainly made her more nervous.

"She had to give up work and this upset her dreadfully because she really enjoyed her work."

Pleaded guilty

Seabrook had already pleaded guilty to one count of deception against Karen Jonckheere, from Sussex, in June 2003.

She had called out the plumber when her toilet became blocked by a toilet freshener.

After about two hours' work, Seabrook asked her to go upstairs to flush the toilet.

When she came back downstairs, Ms Jonckheere discovered he had charged almost £3,000 to her debit card and left.

She said she was "absolutely horrified" when she realised what Seabrook had done.