A rogue builder and his grandson have been jailed after an 89-year-old woman paid £21,000 for waste clearance and minor repairs to her property.

Thomas Gumble, 79, of Strathdon Drive, Wandsworth, was sentenced to four years in prison at Croydon Crown Court for a breach of a criminal behaviour order and for false representation offences.

His grandson, Thomas Gumble, 30, also of Strathdon Drive, was sentenced to three years in prison after he took advantage of having the same name as his granddad to clear cheques so they didn’t show up in his grandad’s bank account.

Gumble senior had been spared jail in February 2015 after he admitted to fraud offences relating to door-stepping elderly victims around Norbury and Thornton Heath.

He was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, and given a criminal behaviour order that stopped him from cold-calling or carrying out any unsolicited building work anywhere in England or Wales.

But within months of being given the order Gumble went cold-calling at the home of an elderly female resident.

He took £21,000 off his victim to have rubbish and building waste cleared from her gardens. He also cut back her shrubs, laid turf, patched up brickwork and repaired fences.

In 2016 the victim told her family how much she had spent. Her family called the police who contacted the council’s trading standards department and an investigation began.

Councillor Hamida Ali, cabinet member for communities, safety and justice, said: "Once again, praise is due to our trading standards officers and the police for successfully prosecuting this case.

"Having previously admitted preying on some of our borough’s most vulnerable residents, and being given a criminal behaviour order for his crimes, he immediately went out and carried on as if nothing had happened.

"Then, in an attempt to avoid being found out, he convinced his grandson – who shares his name – to pass the cheques through his, Gumble junior’s, bank account.

"These were despicable and callous crimes which the judge has, quite rightly, viewed extremely seriously and dealt with in what many would feel was a completely appropriate manner.

"I’d like to remind residents to always get a recommendation from a trusted source, such as www.trustmark.org, when looking for reputable traders. Equally, I’d appeal to people to look out for their elderly relatives or neighbours to protect them from rogue traders."