A 'HEARTLESS cowboy' joiner from Cheshire West has been jailed after conning his customers out of more than £19,500 for work he never did.

Phillip Burton-Fox, the owner of Foxed Oak Joinery Ltd, took up-front payments for six complainants as deposits for a variety of joinery work.

The jobs included bespoke furniture, a timber-framed conservatory, a new staircase and a kitchen refit.

Typically, after the defendant received a 50 per cent deposit, the complainants would hear little, if anything, from the 39-year-old.

Messages and telephone calls from the complainants would go unanswered.

Now, after he was charged by Cheshire West and Chester Council with fraudulent trading, Burton-Fox, of Grazier Road, Northwich, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

When handing down the sentence, Chester Crown Court judge Patrick Thompson said Fox was ‘completely heartless and selfish’, adding what he did was ‘cruel, leaving his victims hanging’.

Judge Thompson was satisfied Fox, who prolonged the agony of victims by pleading not guilty and maintaining that plea for 10 months, ‘was a dishonest man and the case against him was overwhelming'.

The matter came to the attention of Cheshire West Trading Standards in January 2022 after a complainant sought advice from the Citizen’s Advice Service.

Trading Standards were notified of the complaint and a subsequent search on the Citizen’s Advice database found further complainants who had all suffered the same fate, of paying for work that was never done.

Cllr Christine Warner, the council's cabinet member for homes, planning and safer communities said: "Our Trading Standards officers work hard to protect residents in Cheshire West and Chester from this type of fraudulent business activity.

"Rogue traders like this face custodial sentences and hefty fines or compensation orders. Please report anyone you think may be a ‘cowboy’ tradesperson, so they can be swiftly brought to justice."

Report rogue traders on the Citizens Advice Consumer Service consumer helpline: 0808 223 1133 or online at: citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer.