Tradesman preyed on OAPs

A Fife tradesman who preyed on vulnerable pensioners to scam them out of nearly £30,000 has been jailed.

George Flannigan took advantage of the “trusting nature” of three residents in their 80s to pocket cash by grossly overcharging them for work.

Alistair and Elizabeth Moir, who were 87 and 83 at the time, were duped into parting with £28,800 for the shoddy work done to their roof – which was valued by an independent surveyor at £5,000 – in 2016.

The couple from Buckie, in Moray, were then forced to fork out an additional £8,500 to put right the damage that had been done to their home.

Yesterday, 24-year-old Flannigan, who lives in a static home at Cartmore Industrial Estate in Lochgelly, was jailed for 15 months after admitting a charge of fraud and another of attempted fraud.

Elgin Sheriff Court was told he was only able to pay back less than half of what he conned from his victims through his enterprise, Re-Roofs Scotland.

Sheriff Chris Dickson condemned Flannigan for “targeting” vulnerable residents.

Defence agent Kate Phillips had earlier revealed her client already has a previous conviction for a similar offence.

Detective Constable Frank McDermott, who led the investigation, described Flannigan’s actions as “deplorable”.

He said: “Flannigan left victims financially and emotionally devastated.”