A COLNE gardener charged a pensioner suffering from dementia nearly three times the going rate for a job, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Brian Ward also failed to provide the 81-year-old woman from Skipton with notification of her right to cancel the contract or with his business address.

Ward was prosecuted by North Yorkshire County Council’s trading standards service after his victim was visited by her occupational therapist, who alerted the authorities.

He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to complete 200 hours’ unpaid work and be subject to a curfew order between 9pm and 7am for offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

The court was told that an examination by the trading standards team’s arboriculturalist established that the work Ward carried out for £270 was in fact valued at just £100.

The court heard that Ward has a previous conviction dating from 2010, when North Yorkshire County Council trading standards team prosecuted him for aggressive practices in connection with gardening work.

He had received a suspended prison sentence and was ordered to complete 240 hours’ unpaid work on that occasion.

Sentencing Ward, his honour Judge Potter said: “These are serious matters as they represent you ripping off a vulnerable person.

“This is not the first time you have been prosecuted for ripping off a vulnerable person for work that wasn’t done properly. The previous convictions make the current offences more serious.”