A 'cowboy electrician' who carried out botch jobs in Chester which left residents thousands of pounds out of pocket has been spared custody "by the skin of his teeth".

Jake Hughes, 33, had previously pleaded guilty to seven charges in relation to five victims, all in the Chester area.

Chester Crown Court heard today that Hughes – who had previously been sentenced to seven years in a young offenders institution in 2009 for rape – repeatedly pestered one of his victims for payment, despite knowing she was in hospital with a heart problem.

He also tried to explain his absences from carrying out works to three sets of customers by claiming his nan had died, despite those works spanning several weeks.

Recorder Lawrence McDonald, sentencing, said Hughes, of Scaife Street, York, charged customers for "shoddy" work that was "valueless", or nearly valueless, and in some cases "dangerous".

But he added there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation for Hughes, and the type of offending, while serious, were not as serious as similar cases which had led to car accidents or victims losing their life savings.

'Duped'

Prosecuting, Anam Khan said the offending took place between August 2021 and March 2022, when Hughes represented a company called Smart Electrical Solutions.

The company van had the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting logo, NICEIC, on it – the mark of an electrician allowed to carry out more complicated work. However, Hughes was not qualified in such works, and Recorder McDonald said this logo left customers "duped".

He told one victim, Eileen Morgan, about works to be carried out at her Hoole home as some of the wiring was "dangerous".

Ms Morgan said some of that work had originally been done by Cheshire West and Chester Council, and Hughes said he would claim payment for the works off the local authority.

On August 11, 2021, he invoiced her for £2,400, but Ms Morgan had been admitted to hospital.

She said the sum was more than originally agreed and requested a breakdown of the invoice.

Instead Hughes repeatedly demanded payment through a series of texts and messages on the Nextdoor chat platform, despite Ms Morgan saying she had been in A&E, was "exhausted", it hurt to text and she couldn't afford to pay more than £1,000.

She had been under the impression the money for the works would have come to a few hundred pounds and would never have agreed to it if it was going to cost that much.

After several days of "pestering" messages – the stress of which, the court heard, extended the victim's stay in hospital – Ms Morgan paid £1,000 and pleaded with Hughes not to send more messages until she had been discharged.

In a victim impact statement, Morgan said her health had deteriorated and she had to pay several hundred pounds on remedial works.

Another victim, Irene Maddocks, was told by Hughes her home required a full rewire.

Ms Maddocks asked if the works could be completed without damaging the recently decorated rooms, and was charged £5,100, for which she paid a £1,000 deposit on August 17, 2021.

'Wasting money'

But the works carried out by Hughes were, in the opinion of an expert electrician on behalf of Trading Standards, "valueless" and a "poor standard", identifying 57 recommendations for improvement where there should have been zero after Hughes's work. The property had also been "left in a mess".

Ms Maddocks was originally asked to pay £6,000, but when she queried the VAT on it, the sum was reduced to £5,000.

In a victim impact statement, Ms Maddocks said she felt guilty for 'wasting' her mother's money on works which had to be put right.

Remedial works cost £3,540, while Ms Maddocks had to extend her mother's stay as a respite care home due to the added length of time work was carried out at the home.

Michael Bonsall-Redston and Amy Bonsall, of Curzon Park, had requested electrical works done "urgently" in August 2021 as the couple were about to travel to London for a medical procedure, with Dr Bonsall ultimately giving birth to a daughter.

Despite Hughes claiming a team of "four lads" would "fly through it", charging £6,500 (with £1,000 deposit), the work was unfinished, with holes in the wall. Mr Bonsall-Redston sought a refund on the deposit, but none came. An expert electrician valued the work done as £325.

Mr Bonsall-Redston, in a victim impact statement, said he had been distracted from the birth of his daughter as he could see from his doorbell video that Hughes kept failing to turn up to work. Dr Bonsall said she had "no idea" if the electrics were safe after Hughes's work.

Stress and anxiety

Laura Carr, of Saltney, was contacted by a business named Hard Wired on Facebook Messenger in March 2022 after her garage – the base of her home business – was hit by storm damage. Hughes said he was an electrician and worked alongside a builder, and said he would be able to carry out repairs for £130 a day plus materials.

Ms Carr ultimately paid £3,980 for work deemed to be a "very poor standard", with the garage roof leaking and left electrical wires exposed.

In a victim impact statement, Ms Carr said she had to downsize her business to the conservatory and had lost visiting customers as a result, with an estimated loss of earnings of £3,000.

All the victims said Hughes had caused them stress and anxiety and they had lost trust in tradespeople, while all were fearful of what Hughes might do to obtain payment. Most of the victims had changed the locks on their homes as a result.

In police interview, Hughes claimed he had been subjected to blackmail threats when customers knew of his previous conviction. He said he was a qualified electrician, but admitted it was not for significant electrical works.

Defending, Myles Wilson said Hughes's difficulties came upon his release from prison in his early 20s, where he struggled to obtain employment.

He felt "ashamed and remorseful for how badly he has let people down", and had since relocated to York, and was no longer an electrician.

Recorder McDonald said victims were "duped" and "left with significant problems" and having to spend further sums of money.

Hughes was sentenced to 15 weeks in prison, suspended for two years.

He must carry out 30 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement, 180 hours unpaid work and observe a three-month 8pm-6am home curfew.

Hughes must pay £4,500 compensation, to be obtained over 12 months, which would go to Cheshire West and Chester Council, who will split the sum evenly among the victims.

Recorder McDonald told Hughes he gave much thought to sending Hughes to prison, but the defendant "escaped custody very narrowly".

The court heard victims can also apply for compensation in the civil claims court. The court heard those victims would have a "cast-iron case".

Hughes had denied a further count for an alleged victim in Runcorn. Recorder McDonald allowed that case to 'lie on file'.