A conman who fleeced a Carlisle man struggling to live a normal life after suffering horrific brain injuries in a motorbike accident has been sent to prison for six months.
David Curry, 24, has also been ordered to pay back every penny of the £1,620 his 45-year-old victim paid him for sub-standard building work.
Carlisle Crown Court heard that Curry deliberately targeted the man, knowing that he had been left vulnerable by the crash when he was just 17.
The north east conman cold called at his house in Wigton Road in July last year, offering to do some work on his patio. He did no more than a little weeding, for which he charged £450.
The next day Curry returned, suggesting he should do some building work, but said he would need £200 up-front for materials.
He then told the man he should have his gutters replaced – a job he said he would do for £970, though he claimed it was worth £2,000.
Curry spent five days working at the house – “but not very well”, according to investigators – and finally even took the man to the bank so he could withdraw enough money to pay him. By the end his victim, who struggles to live an independent life in his own home, had handed over a total of £1.620 for work which experts assessed at being worth no more than £350.
Curry, who lives on a caravan site at Hartford Bridge, Bedlington, Northumberland, pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud.
source: newsandstar.co.uk
