A TEAM of rogue traders who fleeced elderly and vulnerable people out of more than £100,000 are behind bars for what a judge called as among the worst case of its kind.

 

Brothers Nathan and John King and their labourer Leon Williams pretended to be maintenance experts and wore branded company clothing to give the impression of professionalism.

 

The truth was that the travelling gang had absolutely no expertise.

 

They pressurised their customers, and either carried out work that was not needed or overcharged for shoddy repairs.

 

An investigation by North Yorkshire Trading Standards revealed how the Kings were spending thousands of pounds on flashy motors - both had new Mercedes E350 AMG Sports cars.

 

Nathan King, 38, was also splashing out on designer goods and at expensive restaurants while he submitted false tax returns, Newcastle Crown Court was told.

 

Prosecutor Richard Bennett described the gang as an “effective team”, and told Judge Stephen Ashurst of the brothers: “They both shared the same dishonest mindset.”

 

They toured the country and struck in North Yorkshire targetting residents on park home sites.

 

One resident, a 79-year-old widow, was forced to withdraw £8,500 on the day of her sister-in-law’s funeral after she was cold-called by a man claiming her drainpipes needed to be renewed.

 

Nathan King, from Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire; his brother, 34, from Barnacle, Warwickshire; and Williams, 29, from Coventry, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to defraud.

 

The brothers were both jailed for two-and-a-half years, and Williams was given a ten-month prison sentence suspended for two years.