Conmen who ripped off hundreds of contractors, including one from Hilton, have been jailed for a total of almost 10 years.

Thomas Major, Alan Holloway and Beverley Smith, from the north west of England, ran a company which ripped off hundreds of contractors to the tune of thousands of pounds up and down the country.

The trio operated an alleged 'not for profit' business which offered homeowners cheap home improvements with the remainder of the cost of the work funded by 'grants' from the so-called Energy Saving Fund, which was to be claimed back by the contractor from the 'fund', which did not exist, a court has heard.

Now after a four-week trial at Chester Crown Court, the trio have been convicted of one count of fraudulent trading and sentenced to a total of almost 10 years between them.

The trial was heard at Chester Crown Court

The court was told as 2,500 contracts for work were secured during a 20-month period, with hundreds of firms, many one-man operations not getting paid.

One of the contractors affected was a workman from Hilton, who lost money as a result of carrying out work he was not then paid for.

Major, 58, from Liverpool, was sentenced to five years in prison, Holloway, 60, from Winsford, Cheshire, was jailed for three years and Smith, 52, from Warrington, Cheshire, was sentenced to 21 months in prison.

The prosecutions came after an investigation by National Trading Standards.

The court was told once a contract had been secured, they commissioned contractors to undertake the renovations, but the grants or the fund itself did not exist, leaving the workmen out of pocket.

The court heard that when prospective customers contacted the business, they were asked questions to establish their eligibility for the 'grant'.

They were then told they were able to secure the 'grant', usually amounting to one third of the cost of the work.

Customers were told the 'grant' was available from financial contributions by national companies such as Pilkington, Marley, Worcester Bosch and VEKA. But no contributions were made by any of these companies, the court heard.

Once a homeowner had decided to go ahead with the work, contractors would be drafted in to carry out the project for the lower price quoted to the customer.

These contractors were told they would be able to claim the extra money from the Energy Saving Fund.

However, the grant and the fund did not exist, meaning the defendants took the profit from the work from payments from customers and left the contractors out of pocket.

The court was told that one contractor claimed he was owed £150,000 while another gas installer was made bankrupt as a result of the scam.

Throughout the trial Holloway and Major maintained that they had only received expenses from the business.

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The defendants were arrested after a considerable number of complaints from consumers and contractors to Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline, the court heard.

The convictions and sentences were secured after a detailed investigation by the National Trading Standards North West Regional Investigations Team, hosted by Cheshire West and Chester Council; which led the investigation and prosecution of the case.

Lord Toby Harris, Chairman of National Trading Standards, said: "These individuals misled consumers and defrauded legitimate traders purely for their own financial benefit. I am pleased that the work of National Trading Standards means that they are now receiving the justice they deserve.

"I would encourage anyone who believes they may be being defrauded or who is worried about the legitimacy of a business to contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline number on 03454 040506."

Sentencing the trio, Judge Woodward described Thomas Major as a 'conman' and considered that Alan Holloway and Beverley Smith had allowed themselves to become involved and were 'trapped by the lure of money'.

The judge also remarked that schemes such as these had 'real victims, damage public confidence and undermined commercial life'.