Conman roofer ripped off ‘vulnerable’ woman
A ROOFER has been ordered to pay more than £3,600 in fines and costs after admitting to overcharging a “vulnerable” woman for work carried out at her Gwynedd home.
Chris Evans also admitted charging for work which had not been carried out at the property in Bethel Road in Caernarfon.
The 39-year-old, of Llys Tregarnedd, Llangefni, had been asked by Ian Wyn Jones to estimate the cost of repairs to the roof of a conservatory at his mother’s home, magistrates at Caernarfon heard.
Geraint Edwards, prosecuting on behalf of Gwynedd Council, said the work was needed as water was seen to be entering the property in July 2017.
The estimate for £700 was accepted by Mr Jones and his mother and, a few weeks later, Evans and two colleagues arrived at the property to carry out the work. During the day, Mr Jones’ attention was drawn to lead flashing which he was told was cracking and likely to get worse. He was told that, while it would cost several thousand pounds to replace the lead flashing, it could be repaired by welding at a cost of £450. “This was accepted and the work was said to have been carried out,” said Mr Edwards.
Some weeks later, damp patches were seen near where the work had been carried out, and Evans promised to visit to inspect FURTHER sightings of a whale which is rarely seen in shallow waters could mean the mammal is in poor health.
The northern bottlenose whale has been spotted swimming near Criccieth beach after it was first seen last month near Black Rock Sands beach in Porthmadog.
The sighting off Criccieth beach on Wednesday comes just 10 days after a jet skier captured footage of what is believed to be the same mammal further down the coast.
According to experts the species is known to prefer swimming in waters deeper than 1,000 metres and although sightings have increased in recent years around British and Irish waters it is still rarely seen this close to our shores
The whale, which is thought to be around 20ft, was spotted by Kirk McBeth of Beeline Caravan Traders who described the sighting as “amazing”.
Mr McBeth said: “It was a stones throw away from the shore for nearly two hours.
“It was an amazing sight but it’s worrying, it must be lost to be this close to the shore.
“With the sightings near Porthmadog too it’s worrying, there must be something wrong with the work. When he failed his work had never been to attend, a complaint was questioned before. He said made to Gwynedd council that, in August 2017, his trading standards, which launched an investigation.
Mr Edwards said experts inspected the work and found no evidence that welding had taken place.
The additional work carried out should not have cost more than £100, the court heard.
Gareth Parry, defending, said Evans had been a roofer for more than 20 years and the standard of him.”
The sighting of the mammal, which is usually only found in deep waters, is a cause for concern for the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) who say it is likely that the whale is “not in good health”.
A spokesperson for the BDMLR said: “We have had reports of several sightings of the northern bottlenose whale in the North Wales area and have trained volunteers in the area monitoring it.
“They will let us know if there are any issues or if the mammal seems distressed or washed up on the shore and if we are needed we will be there.
“It is very unusual for this type of whale to be in this area and this close to the shore as they are rarely found in waters less than 300 metres [deep].
“We’re not sure why it’s ended up here or what’s keeping it here but it’s possible that it’s not in very good health and that’s why it’s in shallower waters.
“A northern bottlenose whale has also been spotted at the end of a loch in Scotland which is also unusual so we also have trained volunteers monitoring the situation there too.” wife had been expecting their third child and he had been spending time with her and sub-contracting the work to two other men.
Mr Parry said Evans accepted he was responsible for the actions of those engaged by him. He asked the court to impose a fine and bear in mind the gulity plea and Evans’ limited financial means.
Bench chairman Peter Lunt Williams said: “Both offences are of a serious nature and the public must be protected. The customer in this case is vulnerable and elderly.”
Evans was fined £615 on both charges and ordered to pay costs of £1,932 and compensation of £450.