A conman who charged people for work he never did has been ordered to pay back £10,000 or face prison.

Ronald Diton pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining cash work on drop kerbs and driveways.

Diton, of Swallow Rise in Chatham, was arrested on in 2013 and charged with four counts of fraud by false representation and one count of obstructing a police constable in the execution of their duty.

The 41-year-old pleaded guilty to the offences in 2014 and was received a six-month suspended sentence.

On Thursday, a confiscation hearing was held at Maidstone Crown Court under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Diton was ordered to forfeit £9,597.50 and failure to pay by 30 April will result in him serving the six-month sentence.

Diton, who was not an approved contractor and had taken cash deposits to complete drop kerbs and driveways. He kept the money and did not do the work.

Searches of his home found £1,137.50, which was seized, and proof that Diton had been lying about doing work since jobs since July 2013.

Financial investigator, Steve Paine of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "Four people paid out substantial amounts of money in good faith, expecting the work to be carried out. It’s understandable they suffered great distress when it was not done and they could not get their money back.

"It is right we continue to relentlessly pursue the profits this man made to ensure it is rightly returned to the victims."