Trading standards officers are celebrating after another rogue fish seller was jailed last week as campaign delivers results across the region.

Brian Pendlington was selling poor-quality fish to elderly people using aggressive, misleading, and unfair selling and business practices through his company, Trawler Fresh Limited.

He was deliberately targeting his vulnerable customers all around the region between May 2019 and May 2020.

One victim, who was 71 and lived alone, was pressurised into purchasing around 40 packs of fish for £495, which were loaded into her freezer by a salesman who didn’t give her the chance to inspect her purchase.

Another, who suffered a similar experience and was charged £195, described feeling violated and vulnerable in her own home.

Read more: Dodgy fish salesman locked up for ripping off elderly customers across region

Victims felt they had no choice but to pay. Where returns were requested, victims were told that this was not possible as the “chill chain” had been broken because the fish had been placed in their freezer.

In some cases, Pendlington repeatedly failed to provide receipts or cancellation rights, and those who did attempt to cancel or complain rarely received a response.

Seven other mobile fish sellers from the North East have been identified, convicted and sentenced after prosecutions brought by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, following investigations by the National Trading Standards North East Regional Investigation Team.

Wendy Martin, Director, National Trading Standards, said: “Aggressive and misleading sales tactics can cause considerable emotional as well as financial distress.

"In this case, the criminal targeted elderly and vulnerable people demonstrating a total disregard for the quality of his product and the wellbeing of his customers, many of whom were reliant on a pension and could ill-afford to lose the money they did.

“The use of these techniques will not be tolerated and we continue to take action against criminals trading in the mobile fish selling industry. I congratulate all involved for their ongoing work to identify suspects and bring enforcement action.

“We are determined to stop individuals like this ripping off vulnerable people."

Since July 2013, Pendlington has been warned repeatedly about his behaviour and has been offered advice and support to help him meet his legal responsibilities.

After complaints about Pendlington persisted, the National Trading Standards North East Regional Investigation Team investigated him further, finding that he sourced fish cheaply and sold it at exorbitantly high price.

He sold primarily to elderly people, used misleading and aggressive sales techniques and continued to operate during the first Covid-19 lockdown.

He took advantage of the fact that many older people were finding it difficult getting to the shops.

The 43-year-old, of The Oval, Chester-le-Street, pleaded guilty to being a trader knowingly or recklessly engaged in a commercial practice which contravened the requirements of professional diligence.

was sentenced to eight months in prison for his failure to learn from his warnings in the years leading up to his arrest.

He was also issued with a criminal behaviour order to prevent him selling fish again.

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