Patrick Damien Hartley, 52, has been sentenced to three years and nine months in prison for defrauding 13 families out of more than £700,000 through unfinished construction work. The court described Hartley as one of the most prolific and heartless fraudsters encountered by Lancashire County Council.

Homeowners were left with properties in disarray, including rain pouring through cracked ceilings, windowless walls, and extensions left incomplete. Many victims were forced to spend substantial sums, some up to £89,000, to rectify Hartley's shoddy work and bring their homes up to safety standards and regulations.

Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards began prosecuting Hartley after receiving complaints from homeowners in September 2022. An investigation revealed he repeatedly failed to complete work he was contracted for, costing victims thousands of pounds. Hartley pleaded guilty to fraud and consumer protection offenses committed between 2020 and 2023.

One victim, Phillippa Edgar, paid Hartley nearly £100,000 for a single-storey rear and double-storey side garage extension. The project, expected to take 10 weeks, was never finished, leaving Edgar to spend £89,000 on remedial work. She described the experience as extremely stressful, impacting her family life.

Joanne Dagostina paid Hartley £64,216 for an extension and fitted kitchen, with additional agreed work. After sacking Hartley in August 2022, she discovered that no steel beams had been installed in the extension, posing a risk of collapse. A structural engineer warned that the failing ceiling could endanger neighboring properties.

Pelin Akin and Wellington Tsang lost over £105,000 for a loft conversion and driveway. After paying £47,500, they were left with an incomplete attic and no roof. The couple later spent £59,000 to have the work finished, with approximately £8,000 used to correct Hartley's previous work.

Another couple intended to use an extension for an elderly relative's end-of-life care, but Hartley's failure to complete the work meant the relative spent her final days in a room without heating or hot water.

Hartley was charged with 26 offenses in 2023. He later pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud and three counts under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. In addition to his prison sentence, Hartley received a seven-year criminal behavior order prohibiting him from owning a business involved in private building work. Confiscation proceedings are underway to recover the defrauded funds.