A rogue trader who has repeatedly preyed on vulnerable victims to carry out unnecessary work at their homes has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Gambling addict Moses Mead was in 2010 locked up for four years after duping elderly people out of more than £800,000 and banned from trading without first informing the police.

But three years later he was given a similar sentence for more fraud offences and burglary.

It was while the 31-year-old father was on licence from that sentence that he sought out more victims in Snodland and Sheppey, conning them out of almost £30,000, Maidstone Crown Court heard.

Mead, 31, of Factory Cottages, Sundridge Hill, Cuxton, admitted eight charges of fraud, two of failing to comply with a Serious Crime Prevention Order and several breaches.

Prosecutor Christopher Prior said Mead used the same modus operandi of cold calling and agreeing to carry out work such as block paving and then persuading customers to have other needless repairs.

Calling himself Mo and Eric and trading under the name Alpha Paving, he would pour water on carpets and convince customers they needed urgent damp repairs.

Judge Jeremy Carey said: “This man is simply unable to give an honest and truthful picture to anyone. How is the public to be protected from this man?

“He is a practiced fraudster who is very skilled in deceiving people into believing work has to be done.

“His record demonstrates how he has managed to achieve that time and time again. They fall for it because he is very good at it.”

Mead went to the Snodland home of one victim and agreed to carry out work to her driveway for £2,350.

But he then persuaded her that additional drainage was required and that there was a damp problem after showing her the carpet was wet in the living room.

But when CCTV footage was checked it showed Mead taking a bottle of water from his coat and pouring it onto the carpet.

“He warned her if it was not done the entire house may need underpinning,” said Mr Prior. “He quoted £1,400 for the work but agreed to accept £780 for additional and unnecessary work.

“Thankfully, the matter was reported to the police before any money was handed over.”

Another victim, who has since died,agreed to pay £3,800 to have the driveway paved with an access ramp for his wheelchair-bound wife. Mead raised the cost by £1,000, claiming there had been a misunderstanding.

He also told the couple there was a crack in the underground drainage pipe and it needed replacing.

They paid him a total of £8,000 for the work, and an additional £2,200 a day for drivers.

Mr Prior said if the work had been done properly it would have cost about £6,000.

Another couple from Minster agreed to pay £2,200 for paving to the driveway and ended up handing over more than £25,000.

The money was their life savings intended to pay for their granddaughter’s wedding.

Another victim in Sheppey agreed to pay £3,000 for paving and was charged a further £1,250 for fabricated problems.

A woman in Snodland was charged £13,000 for block paving but also parted with a further £10,000 for unnecessary work.

Mr Prior said although Mead had duped victims out of £800,000 in 2010 a confiscation order was made for just £22,225.