A TEAM of rogue builders who targeted elderly and vulnerable householders in Kent and London conned their victims out of about 800,000, a court heard.

Ringleader was William Smith, 43, of Carlton Avenue, Greenhithe, who intimidated his victims in his "despicable quest to relieve vulnerable people of as much money as possible", said Judge Michael O'Sullivan.

Smith deserved more than the eight years four months passed on him at Canterbury Crown Court, said the judge.

Jailed for 36 months was Smith's son Billy Nelson Smith, 21, of Green Street Green Road, Dartford.

Also jailed for four and a half years was Timothy Killick, 35, of Stagshaw Close, Maidstone, whose company Smith used to launder cheques and who wrote invoices for the illiterate Smith.

Smith admitted conspiracy to defraud, his son admitted money laundering, attempted deception and fraud. Killick admitted money laundering, deception and fraud.

Dominic Connolly, prosecuting, said Smith operated from January 2003 to September 2007 cold-calling people in Gravesend, Dartford, Hartley, Thanet, Chatham, Tunbridge Wells and London - 43 households fell victim to him.

An unqualified builder, Smith's work was shoddy, often unnecessary and sometimes not done at all. Often householders had to employ bona fide builders to rectify Smith's work.

His charges were extortionate - a 46-year-old Margate man with learning difficulties paying 75,000 and a vulnerable Dartford man losing 101,500 to Smith.

He used a cheque conned from that victim to buy a 24,000 Mitsubishi, purchased through Killick. Killick also bought a 90,000 plot of land for Smith.

Smith was arrested, interviewed and bailed in April 2006. Afterwards, he passed cheques through Killick's account and used invoices in the name of Killick's company, Emplex Building Limited. Nearly 215,000 passed through Killick's account.

He also paid 48,600 into his son's accounts as well as his wife's and large deposits totalling 1m in less than three years were made but the Crown were unable to say all were from Smith's fraudulent activities.

Police are still hunting another man, Mark Baker, 44, from Caterham, who absconded during his trial at the same court earlier this year. Baker was convicted in his absence of obtaining 75,000 from the Margate victim.

Smith had convictions for dishonesty, robbery and violence. Killick had convictions for burglary, handling and theft and Billy Smith had a conviction for dangerous driving.