A GANG of "chronic alcoholics" are facing jail after they admitted conning vulnerable pensioners out of more than £150,000 - and spending it in the pub.

Eleven households were preyed on by the men, who carried out unnecessary, shoddy and sometimes, worthless work on their homes, Teesside Crown Court was told.

Trading standards officers, who carried out an investigation into the activities of the cowboy builders after complaints, believe there could be many more victims across Teesside and North Yorkshire.

Among the gang's victims were:

l A woman from Billingham, near Stockton, who paid them £79,000

l A 70-year-old man, from Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, who handed over £58,000

l A married couple from Northallerton, North Yorkshire, who gave the gang £7,820 before they became suspicious.

None of the men involved had any building qualifications and they were all chronic alcoholics, the court was told.

Allan Phillips, 43, of Queen Street, Redcar, east Cleveland, yesterday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud between October 2002 and May this year.

John Richards, 51, of Brittanic Place, Dormanstown, near Redcar, and George Chaffer, 45, of Oliver Street, Redcar, had previously pleaded guilty to the same charge.

Richard Bennett, prosecuting, for North Yorkshire Trading Standards, said one victim had been left penniless and went overdrawn to make payments while another pensioner took out a bank loan to cover the payments demanded by the fake builders.

"They would finish the working day at 11 in the morning and they would go for the duration of the afternoon and drink until the money ran out.

"It would be interesting to see where this money has gone, I suspect it has gone to the local pub."

"The prosecution say that these are the worst type of builders, because not only were they unqualified and wholly incompetent, but they were also dishonest and greedy.

"If that was not bad enough, they deliberately targeted elderly and vulnerable victims.

"Richards was the main man, the talker, the one with the gift of the gab, cold-calling victims, engaging them in conversation and trapping them, one after another.

"Chaffer and Phillips were the grafters, if one can use that expression. They would do the work at the property, or at least pretend to, and get paid."

The court was told that in one incident the men charged for refelting a roof but only replaced a small strip which covered the lip, to give the impression the whole job had been done properly.

The gang would stake out their victims' properties and watch the householders' movements before approaching them on their doorsteps to carry out work and befriend them.

On one occasion, one victim turned the men away from her home and they became aggressive and started swearing at her.

They also made several early-morning phone calls to one elderly householder and insisted that he meet them outside banks in Guisborough, east Cleveland, or Stokesley, North Yorkshire, to hand over cash.

The gang was caught after complaints to North Yorkshire Trading Standards, which put the men under surveillance.

A further eight cases came to light involving much smaller figures of between £40 and £80 for bogus work.

Judge George Moorhouse was told it was highly unlikely any of the victims would recoup their money.

Mr Bennett said: "None of the defendants in this case seems to have a bean."

In November 2003 The Northern Echo launched its Doorstoppers campaign to try to stamp out the menace of doorstep bogus callers.

Speaking after the case, Ruth Taylor, head of special investiga tions at North Yorkshire Trading Standards, said: "Due to the number of victims and the amount of times they have been targeted, this is one of the worst cases we have dealt with.

"We are aware of other cases, that could be related to this gang, but some people have passed away and we have not been able to speak to them."

North Yorkshire county councillor John Forte said: "These men pleaded guilty to committing despicable, heartless offences against the most vulnerable members of society.

"The elderly are entitled to expect to live in comfort in their retirement in the knowledge their homes are safe and their savings are protected and available if they need them. These victims have been robbed of this security."

The case was adjourned for sentencing until November 11 and the men were bailed.

A victim's tale - Page 4