A bogus builder who conned victims out of £25,000 while performing shoddy roof and building work has been slapped with a community order.

Michael John William Verrechia, of Eastwood Road in Maidstone operated under numerous company names from fake addresses, while carrying unnecessary work.

The 26-year-old conned a resident in Kingston, south west London.

He claimed to be a member of the Confederation of Roofing Contractors, suggesting new roofs came with a 20 year guarantee, that he had £1million public liability insurance and that no payment was required until work was complete.

When the roofing work was finished, the home-owner challenged Verrechia who became abusive and pressured his victim into paying an extra £6,400.

Two other customers also said they were coerced into having unnecessary roofing work, and later pressured into overpaying for work carried out.

Verrechia operated under business names including British Roofing and Building, White Rose Home Improvements and Red Rose Home Improvements.

In court, Verrechia admitted to five offences including money laundering, fraud and unfair trading.

He was handed an 18-month community order requiring him to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work.

He was fined £300 and given a three-month curfew keeping him at his home between 8pm and 6am.

Kingston-upon-Thames councillor Dave Ryger-Mills said: "Our role is to protect our residents, so we take these matters very seriously. This a very good result for our trading standards team, and we will continue to work to ensure that rogue traders are prosecuted.

"We encourage residents to not deal with traders who call at their door, seek recommendations from friends and family before undertaking any works, and to get a number of different written quotes before making a decision.”

Kingston and Sutton Trading Standards have successfully obtained £15,400 from Verrechia to compensate the victims.