Chester victim of cowboy electrician calls for tougher sentences

Jake Hughes, 33, of Scaife Street, York, was spared prison 'by the skin of his teeth' at Chester Crown Court on Monday, February 6, after the judge, Recorder Lawrence McDonald, said there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.

The court heard Hughes had pleaded guilty to seven charges, in relation to five victims, on cases where he had charged residents four-figure sums for botched electrical work.

The home of Michael Redston and Dr Amy Bonsall was left with holes in the wall, dangling wires and rubble on the floor.

Hughes, who had one previous conviction for rape, pestered one of his victims for payment, despite knowing she was in hospital with a heart problem.

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

The garage of Laura Carr was left with exposed electrical wiring and in a 'dangerous' condition, and was not waterproof.

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. He must also pay £4,500 compensation.

One of Hughes's victims, Dr Amy Bonsall, says the starting point for such offending should be higher, which would have given the judge more reason to put Hughes behind bars.

Cowboy electrician Jake Hughes left one of the homes in a mess.

Michael Bonsall-Redston and Dr 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.

The home of Michael Redston and Dr Amy Bonsall was left with holes in the wall, dangling wires and rubble on the floor.

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.

Dr Bonsall, speaking to The Standard, said: "There is a huge issue with the fact the emotional damage is not really considered criminal. He came and damaged the property."

The home of Michael Redston and Dr Amy Bonsall was left with holes in the wall, dangling wires and rubble on the floor.

Dr Bonsall added the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC) needed to be "more responsible", after Hughes had admitted putting the NICEIC logo on his van when he was not qualified to carry out complex electrical work.

She said: "They need to advertise that all [qualified NICEIC people] need an ID card. They ought to be really publicising that and not just a logo. If you don't know that, you don't know whether to look for it."

The home of Michael Redston and Dr Amy Bonsall was left with holes in the wall, dangling wires and rubble on the floor.

Dr Bonsall also warned that anyone could be a potential victim of unfair trading.

"I have a PhD, I am pretty savvy, but he absolutely duped us, as he managed to find a small window of opportunity when I was vulnerable, I needed to go to the hospital and we needed our house to be safe.

The home of Michael Redston and Dr Amy Bonsall was left with holes in the wall, dangling wires and rubble on the floor.

"Every single person has the capacity to be vulnerable. I did nothing wrong, I should have been protected by the laws and governances. The protections for customers were not there and that is what makes me angry.

"He did what he did and still wasn't imprisoned."

The home of Michael Redston and Dr Amy Bonsall was left with holes in the wall, dangling wires and rubble on the floor.

Dr Bonsall says the starting sentencing point for unfair traders should be a longer custodial term. However, she says "given the parameters" of the sentencing guidelines the judge had to deal with, she preferred Hughes received a suspended sentence with unpaid work in comparison to a short custodial term.

She said of the judge: "I think he got it right; I think he was very smart in not sending him down for a few weeks, as nobody would be monitoring him afterwards.

"For him, having two years of watching his back, is more of a pain. Having to do community service and observe a curfew will be much more of a deterrent to him."

The garage of Laura Carr was left with exposed electrical wiring and in a 'dangerous' condition, and was not waterproof.

Dr Bonsall also praised the complex work done by Trading Standards throughout the investigation.

"Trading Standards have been amazing, especially their officer Kieran. He took our cases so seriously, he was empathetic and understanding, and wanted to get the best result for all of us."

The garage of Laura Carr was left with exposed electrical wiring and in a 'dangerous' condition, and was not waterproof.

As well as sub-standard electrical work, Hughes attempted building work which fell so short of compliance with any structural design that it had to be removed. In another offence, Hughes aggressively demanded payment from a woman by multiple texts and emails, knowing she had been admitted to hospital.

Another of the victims was Laura Carr, from Saltney, who 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.

The garage of Laura Carr was left with exposed electrical wiring and in a 'dangerous' condition, and was not waterproof.

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.

The garage of Laura Carr was left with exposed electrical wiring and in a 'dangerous' condition, and was not waterproof.

The Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport, Councillor Karen Shore said: “Our Trading Standards Officers work hard to protect residents in Cheshire West and Chester from this type of fraudulent and dangerous business activity.

“Rogue traders like this face custodial sentences and hefty fines or compensation orders. Please report anyone you think may be a ‘cowboy’ builder or electrician, so they can be swiftly brought to justice before someone gets hurt due to their substandard work.”

The garage of Laura Carr was left with exposed electrical wiring and in a 'dangerous' condition, and was not waterproof.

Report rogue traders on the Citizens Advice Consumer Service consumer helpline at 0808 223 1133 or online at https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/get-more-help/if-you-need-more-help-about-a-consumer-issue/

The garage of Laura Carr was left with exposed electrical wiring and in a 'dangerous' condition, and was not waterproof.