Bogus fitter conned customers to pay gambling debt

A conman has been sentenced after posing as a professional bathroom fitter and defrauding customers out of thousands of pounds to fund a gambling habit.

Liam John Harbottle, of Aiskew near Bedale, pleaded with customers for advance payments, saying he was desperate to pay his bills, but failed to complete the work, police said.

The 41-year-old, who admitted fraud by false representation and theft, was given a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, at York Crown Court on Thursday.

He was also ordered to repay his victims a total of £19,231 and carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.

A North Yorkshire Police investigation found that Harbottle's requests for advance payments coincided with spikes in his gambling debts.

The court was told that he used aliases and changed the name of his business to evade bad reviews.

In one case, an 85-year-old woman paid Harbottle £2,500 to refurbish her bathroom. He gave six dates on which he would start the work, but never turned up nor contacted the victim again.

Another customer paid more than £7,500 for multiple refurbishments in his hotel which were left unfinished or sub-standard.

He also pre-purchased bathroom fittings worth more than £5,000 that Harbottle stole and sold on eBay. The victim suffered from lost revenue of about £20,000 as a result.

A third victim paid £3,700 for a bathroom that was left damaged and never completed.

Investigating officer PC Emily Blackwell said: "Thanks to our financial investigators, we were able to evidence that Harbottle would dishonestly obtain money from the victims, only to fund his gambling activities.

"The kindness of the victims was completely exploited as he received additional payments by manipulating those generous enough to believe him.

"Not only have they suffered financially but they have also suffered psychological distress, losing trust in people and, in some cases, the worry has affected their physical health."

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