Craig Parker, 41, admitted a string of offences valued at £27,621 where he was described as “inexperienced, incapable and incompetent”. He told a judge: “I just didn’t cope and I got everything wrong. That’s the only thing I can say.”

Seven customers of Oval Gardens were left with incomplete, substandard work which cost them more to fix or replace. This left some struggling financially including a nurse who had to work extra hours, Teesside Crown Court heard on Monday (February 27).

The work at homes in Middlesbrough, Stockton, Billingham and Wynyard was described by an expert as rushed, unfit, unsafe and inadequate. Jobs had to be redone after they were underquoted and “priced to win”.

The customers told of the impact on their lives. One heartbroken householder lost hope in her “dream garden” and her father, who gave her the money to pay for it, died before he could see it finished.

Some were so worried about the hazards left behind, they would not let their children outside. Some materials including nails were thrown into a piece of garden intended as a safe children’s play area, while others were burned leaving fire damage, said Joan Smith, prosecuting for Stockton Council.

One child was injured by a tile and an adult got a nail through his foot. A family had to jump over a wall to get to their own home for months because so much rubbish was piled up, the court was told.

Ms Smith said: “He repeatedly has let his clients down. He has failed to carry out any form of satisfactory or competent work. He demonstrated a lack of reasonable care.”

She said he made excuses and offered £5,040 in refunds which never came as customers, some initially satisfied, realised the poor quality of the work. Some found the firm had been taken off Facebook and one went to his home to confront him over a patio and raised hot tub area.

Parker carried on his work while under a suspended prison term from March 2021 for similar offending. Ms Smith said he worked under three companies in four years – firms which were dissolved and a new one set up whenever events reached a head.

Parker, of Neasham Avenue, Billingham, admitted 10 frauds – the refunds and charging customers a total of £4,209 VAT while not VAT-registered – and admitted eight consumer protection offences of engaging in misleading or reckless commercial practices, all between February 2021 and January 2022.

Defending himself in court, he said: “I’m expecting to get a jail sentence.” He said he was under financial pressure at the time: “Not once did I intentionally go out there to commit fraud and crime.

“I was always intending to do the gardens… Trying to get jobs done so I could pay bills,” he added, saying he did more than 60 jobs in three years. Asked if he could have done the work properly given enough time, he said: “Possibly, but I didn’t so that’s why I’ve pleaded guilty. I know that I could do it.

“I do class myself as a bad businessman. I rushed things and I struggled to keep on top on it. It was never intentionally going out to rip anybody off. When they asked for refunds I basically didn’t have the money. I thought I could (pay them) if I did another job and it snowballed.” He said the VAT fraud came from him using an app which produced his invoices.

The dad-of-three described difficulties in his family including health problems which stopped his wife working. He said he was no longer in business but had worked for a company in the last 18 months.

The judge, Recorder Mark McCone, told him: “Seven complainants suffered at your hands when you failed to carry out adequate building work. People not only lost money but they suffered emotionally as a result.

“This is effectively a fraud on people who were handing over their money expecting good work to be done.”

After reading a reference describing Parker’s work since as a subcontractor, he said: “I do accept there is scope for good work in the future. Clearly, Mr Parker, the court takes no pleasure at all in sending a family man to custody.

“I accept that you are a genuine husband and father who wants to provide for his children… I’ve got no alternative today to pass an immediate custodial sentence,” he added, jailing Parker for 19 months.

The prosecution applied for almost £29,000 compensation, but the judge made no order, saying Parker would lose his job and had no prospect of paying the money.

Parker’s wife Kellie Parker, 40, the company’s sole director, denied nine charges of fraud, 11 consumer protection offences and one charge of falsely applying to strike off a company. On the company’s behalf, she also pleaded not guilty to seven charges of fraud and eight consumer protection offences.

She and the company were cleared of all these charges after the prosecution offered no evidence against them.

Fraudster who did shoddy building work is jailed - but won't have to pay compensation to the customers he fleeced