A TEAM of crooked salesmen preyed on the elderly and infirm after being ordered to target "coffin dodgers".

The company boss and employees of Global Seal Home Improvements conned more than £30,000 from vulnerable customers by persuading them that they needed home improvements.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how Steven Rudd, 28, with employees Garry Donoghue, 24, his brother, Kevin Donoghue, 28, and Albert Jones, 61, would mark up prices by as much as 500 per cent for the sub-standard work. Rudd also joked that his men should target "Welshys" - a word he used for anyone infirm or with mental problems. He coined it after a colleague, Michael Welsh, fell into a coma following a car smash.

The court heard that most of the Gateshead company's victims were in their 70s, 80s and 90s, living in the North-East.

John Wilkinson, prosecuting, told the court: "Those involved were seeking out and taking advantage of those most vulnerable. Rudd referred to the elderly as coffin dodgers and Welshys."

The court heard that one elderly woman spent more than £46,000 after visits from salesmen using high-pressure techniques.

Another man, in his 70s, was charged £3,040 for block paving, which could have been done for £500.

Rudd preyed on a couple in their late 70s where the husband was a dementia sufferer. His wife ended up paying £1,560 for £276 worth of work done to her bedroom wall.

Of 1,000 contracts seized by police, a sample of 40 were investigated. All of them were found to involve elderly people being ripped off.

Defence barristers said the salesmen acted under Rudd's influence, but Duncan Smith, for Rudd, said each was self-employed and acted as his own man.

He said: "This was not a company set up to attack the elderly."

Rudd, of Thorn Bridge, Teal Farm, Washington, Wearside, was jailed for two-and-a-half years after admitting nine charges of obtaining by deception.

Garry Donoghue, of Finchale Close, Sunderland, was jailed for 12 months. He admitted five charges of obtaining by deception. He has already served time behind bars for similar offences while working for another firm.

Kevin Donoghue, of Lundale Avenue, Sunderland, was jailed for four months after he admitted two charges of obtaining by deception.

Albert Jones, 61, of North Primrose Hill, Gateshead, was given a 150-hour community punishment order after admitting one charge of obtaining by deception.

The company has since gone into liquidation and closed