A rogue builder left a trial of unfinished work and up to 30 customers a combined more than £130k out of pocket.
During a seven-year period James Bell, from Darlington, took down-payments from clients, many of them described as elderly or vulnerable due to ailing health, and failed to complete jobs, from Berwick to North Yorkshire.
He has now been jailed for five years.
Newcastle Crown Court heard he came up with a variety of excuses to stall for time.
Bell's victims were estimated to have lost a total of £130,913, but that figure does not include the further payments many were forced to make to finish his sub-standard work and complete unfinished jobs.
The 51-year-old, of Cumberland Street, Darlington, admitted four counts of fraud by false representation, plus being knowingly concerned in a fraudulent business, theft and two bail breaches having been living for a time in Cumbria for a time during the investigation.
The court heard Bell was previously convicted of fraud by false representation and jailed in 2012, while he received a caution for theft from a home in 2017.
Judge Edward Bindloss described Bell’s offending as being, “sustained, over a long period of time”, with a large number of victims.
He said he caused, “a serious detriment to many people".
But the judge told Bell: “There was a high degree of evasion, excuses and false representations made.”
Judge Bindloss said Bell left some customers “living on building sites for much longer than they should have been.”
He said they suffered a financial impact, a loss of savings, and had to resort to taking out bank loans.
"Some people had to take on extra jobs to pay off what happened to them.”
He said Bell’s actions had an effect on wider families of victims, including parents, children and grandchildren.
"Several people have spoken about how upset they feel, the guilt they feel, how humiliated they feel.”
The judge said victims were left feeling “energy-sapped”, with a reduced trust in tradespeople in general.
"Almost everyone was left with months of delays.
“This fraud of yours affected many people's lives, well beyond the financial.
“It's affected them both emotionally and practically."
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Imposing a five-year prison sentence Judge Bindloss said Bell may have been hard-working but his problems developed when he went self-employed due to being, “disorganised and chaotic.”
Although his actions were not initially fraudulent there were signs he became, “overwhelmed", taking on increasing number of jobs, “generating more and more victims."
The judge said he understood Bell had expressed a wish to repay the people he defrauded, but he said, realistically, he does not have the means to pay compensation.
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